


The Half-Demon Who Lived

by Cleric_Sunlight



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Crime Fighting, Gen, Genderbending, Genderswap, Psychological Torture, Psychological Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:02:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23311336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cleric_Sunlight/pseuds/Cleric_Sunlight
Summary: Finding your way in life is hard for some, and easy for others. What do you do when your compass is broken? Rated M for violence.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 11





	1. The Half-Demon Who lived

The Door opened with quiet creaking and a moment later it closed with a loud slam; a telltale sign of Dudley entering the house.

She checked the time on the hallway clock. It read one o'clock. Dudley came back from Piers’ a whole hour earlier than usual. That wasn’t good, at least for her. He always did that when he had something big planned.

When he waddled over to her with that stupid grin on his face, she knew there would be trouble. ‘Give me that pretty necklace of yours!’ he said. 

She faced him with the nastiest glare she could make, holding onto the pendant that hung from her neck. ‘It’s mine. You can’t have it!’ she hissed. ‘Why do you want it anyway?’ she said. 

‘Give me the necklace!’ he blustered.

Apparently, it was too important for her to know.

‘Well you can’t have it. It’s mine!’ she shouted. It was not a good idea, but she had no choice. Defying Dudley was a recipe for disaster, only this time she would have Aunt Petunia on her side. She would surely be angry if she found out he had been taking her things. She was trying to educate him about gentlemanly behaviour.

‘Dad will make you give it to me!’ he threatened. He either did not care or had simply forgotten about that particular detail. 

That could work. Uncle Vernon hated her, although she did not know why. He also hated being disturbed during his nap time. Even worse, Aunt Petunia wouldn’t help her if Uncle Vernon was mad and tired.

‘Last warning. Give it here, or I’ll tell dad!’ He put his hand out expectantly.

This was not going well for her. The only thing she could do now is attract Uncle Vernon’s attention and hope he believed her. An insult should do the trick. ‘I’d never give anything pretty to a pig!’

Dudley flushed even harder and reached out to wrench the pendant of her neck. He was supposed to punch and shout, not take it by himself! Thinking quickly, she elbowed him unto the chin. While he was stunned she tried push him away. 

He did more than that. With a black explosion he sailed through the air, straight through the hallway door and into the lone armchair. He slammed into that armchair with a soft crunch. She look at her hand; unmoving, not even blinking. The black light still glowed around it, but it was fading quickly.

Meanwhile, Uncle Vernon jumped from his napping position on the couch. The newspaper that had been covering his face scattered across the room. Aunt Petunia dropped the teapot she had been holding and screamed. Vernon took one look at Dudley and his face went from pale to red to purple. Then, he focused her like an angry dog. ‘What did you do to him you damned girl!’ he shouted. ‘I knew you would be trouble the moment we took you in! You lot are all the same, no matter how old you are!’ he shouted some more. He continued to rant and rave while stomping towards her, but she wasn’t paying attention.

She was thinking about that flash of black light. It was like magic, but Uncle Vernon always said magic wasn’t real. What else could it be though? She hadn’t been in any irradiated places or chemical factories.

Turns out, her uncle wanted some answers too. He grabbed her by her shoulder and shook her furiously. ’Answer me you devil!’ he yelled. Before she had a chance to respond Uncle Vernon slapped her across the face. It sent her flying back through the hallway and onto the carpet.

Pain. Pain magnitudes greater than anything Dudley could manage. Not something she could just shrug off. Lightbulbs exploded around the house and windows shattered. Various furniture, pictures, lamps and paintings flew around he house, enshrouded in darkness. One of the drawers hit Vernon in the head and knocked him unconscious. 

Her aunt’s hair paled. She aged forty years in a few seconds. Soon she started to shiver and convulse. For the first time it was her aunt that was looking at her in terror, and not the other way around.

Violet could neither see nor think. Her thoughts were clouded with pain and anger; her body levitated in place as a puppet on a string. Her eyes glowered at her shivering aunt. ‘What’s the matter auntie? Won’t you berate me for being naughty?’ she asked, 

She lifted her hands again. They glowed again, but not with the black light that struck down Dudley. This time the light was red. She would strike her down. An eye for an eye. Pain for pain. 

‘Please don’t hurt me Violet, I don’t really mean all the things I say! I would certainly never harm my favourite niece.’

‘You lie! Lies, Lies and lies, that is all you know!’ A black tentacle grabbed her and flung her into a wall. 

With that, her mind unclouded. The once pristine house lay demolished. The entirety of the hallway looked as if a hurricane tore through it. shattered shelves and broken pictures lay about and pieces of glass littered the floor. 

This was her doing. She had caused this. There was no telling what disasters she would cause next. She cleaned a patch floor with her dusty, old shoes and kneeled down, shoulders slumped over. Maybe it was a good thing her mum and dad died in that car crash. At least she couldn’t hurt them

As the last of the black lights died, her Pendant started to buzz. She stared at it. Her aunt claimed that ‘something so exotic’ must have belonged to her mother. It consisted of a golden chain and a red gemstone shaped like a teardrop.

It started to shine very brightly. The light was getting brighter and bigger every second, but it didn’t feel like her light. Her light was angry and strong. This light was peaceful and tranquil. 

It was so blindingly bright now. She suddenly felt a new sensation. It was odd, like her insides were being twisted, bent and rearranged. The room started to spin, or was it her that was spinning? She couldn’t tell. Eventually, it all stopped. The levitating, the glowing, the spinning. She landed back on the ground face-first.

The day had been exhausting and she was very tired. She wanted her blanket and mattress. She couldn’t sleep now though; she needed to get help. She huffed in irritation and got back up. What she saw struck her like lightning on a sunny day. She wasn’t in the house any more, nor anywhere she recognized for that matter. Instead of the ruined hallway there were tall grasses as far as the eye could see and a few large trees rising high into the sky. It all looked so unfamiliar though. She had never seen such bright pink flowers or leaves so green before. What really caught her eye though was the sky. It was bluish-green in colour and the clouds that dotted it were bright crimson. Was this a magical land of beautiful princesses and noble knights she was in? Or was it perhaps Eden, the garden of God? No matter, this couldn’t be anywhere near her home. She decided to explore a little, just to sate her wanderlust. Maybe she would get lucky and find somebody else in odd plain.

She started to roam around, peeking over every rock and climbing on every hill she came across. The only interesting thing she saw was a lone mountain, far in the distance. From there she could decide which way to go.

She found the thick, tall and white trees quite beautiful. They branched out near the top, leaving the trunk balanced and strong. It was a metaphor waiting to be made. There were other beautiful things here, like bushes with oval, rouge berries. Those bushes grew around a small stream of pristinely clear water. A perfect place for a picnic! She had always wanted to have one of those, but her aunt and uncle never let her come.

After she devoured several bushed worth of berries and sated he thirst she continued with her journey. She continued to walk for several hours, seeing nothing but the same when she stumbled upon a road. Not a proper road like the ones that you drove your car on, but an old, stone one. It’s white stones were cut without a flaw and were not dull from overuse. It was like it was built yesterday. This was exactly the sort of thing she needed! Roads meant people, and people meant civilisation! She sprinted towards the highest hill in the area, the soft ground squishing underneath her old, worn shoes. When she reached the top she looked around very, very carefully. Sadly, she couldn’t see any trace of civilisation besides the road. She let out a quiet sigh of defeat and turned back with sunken shoulders; tears slowly trailing down her cheeks. 

She was nearly back down when she heard a soft humming accompanied by several footsteps squeaking down the white road. She stopped dead in her tracks and crouched down. Luckily for her, they couldn’t see her thanks to a large rock to her left. A slim, middle-aged man in long, white robes came into view. His hair was long and blonde and his eyes bright blue. A moment later he was followed by two other figures wearing the same long, white robes, their hoods hiding their faces perfectly, at least from this distance. The two of them were flanking a floating cart. How it was doing? Carts don’t float.

It was long and sleek and swirling, golden lines decorated covered it’s grey surface. Golden bars both enclosed it and covered all of it’s edges. She though it gave it a nice, rounded look. The cargo it was carrying was no less impressive with the flair. There were exactly three boxes. The boxes were of similar design as the cart itself; a grey surface that was decorated with golden spirals. It was all a sight to behold, like something out of a fairytale.

She wasn’t supposed to talk to strangers, but this was an extraordinary situation. She mustered courage and spoke up. ‘Hello there! I am a bit lost. Could you tell me where I am?’ she mumbled. They stopped in their tracks and the cart followed suit. Their heads jolted in her direction, eyes full of surprise. She could understand that. Children weren’t supposed to be out and about alone. 

They looked at each other and whispered a few words between themselves. Then, they turned back to her. ‘And what are you doing in a place like this, child?’ asked the blonde man with an expression devoid of emotion.

‘I don’t know. I told you that I am lost,’ she said. Why didn’t he trust her? Was he an agent of a king on a secret mission? Maybe he was transporting some priceless artefacts in those boxes!

He turned around and nodded at his companions. They nodded back. ‘Come closer, child,’ he said.

She complied and walked over to him. Instead of asking some more questions though, he placed his hands on her temples and closed his eyes. In an attempt to get away, she jerked her head backwards. Unfortunately, his grip was too strong. A couple of moments later his eyes opened and he spoke to her. ‘It is not often that we see strangers in our home, much less unexpected ones. Nevertheless, you are welcome to join us,’ he said. This time he was smiling.

That sounded decidedly odd to her. What home? There was no house nor town here, but trees, bushes and land for miles around. It confused her, but she did not dare question him. After all, they saved her. 

‘There is no need to be frightened of us, child,’ he said. ‘You can tell us the truth.’ His smile really was reassuring. 

Looking down, she blushed shyly. ‘It is a really weird story. You wouldn't believe me sir,’ she quavered.’

That made them all smile. What was funny with that? ‘I have seen and heard plenty things that others would call unbelievable. There is nothing weird or peculiar that I couldn’t believe these days,’ he said. 

She smiled uncertainly, not particularly believing the man. After all, who could have possibly seen anything like the chaos she unleashed? Who saw something like she did on a regular basis? ‘Well, my cousin tried to take my locket,’ —she took the locket of her neck and showed it to him— ‘ but that made me mad so I punched him. He flew through the hallway like a rocket’ She averted her eyes.

‘And then, child? Did anything else happen?’ he asked.

She nodded. ‘My uncle got really angry and he slapped me really hard. It hurt so much and it made me really mad. Then, everything turned black and exploded!’

He frowned thoughtfully when she mentioned the black explosion. Perhaps he wasn’t lying when he said had seen weird things.

‘A black explosion you say?’ He stroked his chin. ‘Did it go away when you calmed down?’

Her jaw hit the floor. She was so excited that the only thing she managed to do was nod, repeatedly and quickly.

The man smiled at her again. 'I told you I was experienced with odd things, child.’

He stroked his chin a couple of times whilst staring at the sky before speaking again. ‘Now, I would like to take you to someone who will be able to answer all your questions much better than I.' He crouched down and looked her in the eyes. ‘What say you, child? Does that interest you?’

She had no idea what to say. Her instincts were screaming at her, telling her not to trust them. Adults have rarely, if ever, been nice to her. Virtually nobody offered her help so openly. On the other hand, she felt like this might be her only chance to not only learn more about herself, but to be finally free of her dreadful cousins, if she played her cards right. The fact that she hopelessly lost went without mention.  
And so, with both doubt and hope in her mind Violet decided that she would go with these strange people. ‘That's really nice of you. Thank you mister.’ She bowed to the man. 'Where are we going sir?' she asked him. 

The man chuckled. 'No need for that, we are friends now aren't we?' It took a lot of effort not to smile. 'I am Aderian, the leader of our small caravan. My two companions are called Izala and Edris.' He pointed to the two people behind him.

Now that she was up close, she could see the faces under the hoods quite clearly. Both of them were women, relatively young too. Izala had long black hair that was shining in the sunlight. Her long nose and chestnut eyes felt somewhat out of place on her olive skin. The other lady, Edris, had short, curly hair of a lovely pale ginger colour. Her skin was pale and her eyes sea green. That small, pointy nose of hers was rather cute.

'Hello, I'm Violet,' she told them, still bearing an uncertain smile. 

'Hello, Violet!' said Edris cheerfully. Izala didn’t speak, she merely smiled.

Aderian raised his hand and step forward; the cart floated along behind him. They resumed their journey and she trailed along besides him.

'We are going to the city called Azarath, named after this realm that is our home,’ he started. ‘The city of Azarath is where we all have lived in peace for many a century.’

She frowned. 'But there is no city for miles around. I checked from up there.' She pointed to hill on which she stood on not too long ago.

Aderian chuckled yet again. 'That was a clever idea,' he praised. 'However, the city is protected from outsiders by powerful defences. Our ancestors took measures to ensure our well-being against possible intruders.' She could sense an omitted truth in those last words. He tried to hide it of course, but he couldn’t fool her. 

'Really? What kind of protections?’ she asked.

He looked her in the eyes. 'Why, our ancient sorceries are capable of all kinds of protections, like those that fool one’s sight.’

So that was it then, magic and sorcery. That must be how he knew all that earlier. ‘Can you teach me to do that?’ she asked him, praying for affirmation.

‘I can,’ he said. ‘But it remains to be seen if you will be permitted to learn. Your powers are unstable and mighty. I do not know if Elder Azar will allow it’

That sounded like an excuse for someone that was incapable; it is what Dudley often said. Surely a group of magicians, sorcerers and whoever else could handle whatever she could do. What was the worse that could happen?

Her new friends must have noticed that she wasn’t trusting them too much because they were whispering something amongst each other. 

‘Elder Azar is our leader. She has guided us for decades and knows the most about the sorceries you wield,’ said Edris. That couldn’t be all there was to it. She just knew it.

‘She must be really old,’ she said. ‘Old people always tell me things that sound important, but I rarely understand any of it. Does Elder Azar do that too?’

Edris chuckled. ‘That is called wisdom; it comes with age and experience.’

She frowned. “I still don’t understand. Is wisdom when someone speaks in riddles?’ she asked.

‘No. Not every riddle is wisdom, but all wisdom comes in a riddle,’ 

‘There you go! You’re doing it too!’ she huffed.

Edris, as well as Aderian, laughed. ‘You will understand when you are older,’ she said.

That was fine; she could wait. ‘It wasn’t important anyway’ she grumbled. A passing fancy, like Aunt Petunia would say.

Still though, Edris was at least honest, unilke Aderian. He unnerved her with his secretive responses and half-truths when she could tell that he knew a lot more than he was letting on. Izala, on the other hand, was just plain creepy. Whenever she looked at her she saw a thousand faces, all different yet the same, all floating over the road in serenity.

‘I am not hiding anything from you, child. It is not my place to answer the most important questions. It is our way.’

There he goes again. Was he reading her mind as well?

‘None of us hold positions that permit sharing our secrets with outsiders, only The Elders have that honour. That is why we are taking you to Elder Azar,’ said Aderian. Izala and Edris affirmed his statement with a nod.

She still didn’t believe a word of it. Maybe it was time to change the topic to something simpler. ‘I’m exhausted. How much further do we have to go?’ she asked.

Aderian pointed at the lone mountain that she saw earlier ‘We are almost there,’ he said. ‘Do you see those structures under the mountain? That is our city, our home. The only refuge you will find around here.’ Surprisingly, she did see them. They were tall and very bright. How did she manage to miss them earlier? 

The city looked beautiful, even from afar. It was as white as the road and it stood out like a sore thumb. Every building, from the smallest shed to the biggest house shined in one place or another

‘Breathtaking isn’t it? No man has approached it and remained ignorant by it’s beauty,’ said Aderian, gazing at the city.

‘Why is it so shiny?’ she asked.

‘The buildings are decorated with the purest form of gold. It, as well as marble, were used by ancient civilisations on Earth at their peak. It is a symbol of the prosperity that we can achieve in peace!’ he cheered. 

Aderian’s enthusiasm had to be infectious because she couldn’t stop smiling. ‘How did you do all that?’ she asked.

He turned to look at her, still smiling like it was his birthday. ‘With a lot of cooperation, good will and a sprinkle of magic.’ They stood there for a few moments in complete silence. ‘Well, that is enough nostalgia for now, we have a delivery to finish.

She wanted to ask about the magic they used, but Aderian motioned for them to stop. ‘Now, you two will continue along the main road as per usual,’ he started, ‘and I will take Violet to see Elder Azar.’ The two women obeyed. Izala touched the floating cart and they went on their way, the cart now following Izala.

The decision seemed odd to her. ‘Why do we have to split up?’

‘Of the few outsiders that have come none have been children, and for a good reason. Nobody comes here by accident.’ He spoke, his voice turning sombre. ‘Your sudden appearance will cause quite a stir in the city. People will want answers that I do not have. It would be safest for you to remain unseen for now. The Elders will announce your arrival,’ he said. 

Aderian started walking to a massive rock encased in the roots of a tree that lay on the left of the road. She trailed right behind him. ‘But how will we get in then?’ she asked. ‘Someone is bound to see us!’

‘That is why we will be taking a more discreet entrance,’ he said.

All this talk about safety and discretion wasn’t comforting; it reminded her of the way everyone at school avoided her. Would it be the same here? ‘Why? How scary could I possibly be?’

Aderian grimaced, then sighed. ‘It isn’t that they fear you, child. As I told you earlier, visitors from the outside world are rare. We even hold celebrations for those that join us. You are unannounced; it is as simple as that.’

Now he was straight up lying to her face; she could taste it. First omissions, then half-truths and now lies. Why, because of some traditions? She could respect that, but this was getting ridiculous!

Now that they were closer to the it she could vaguely make out some symbols carved into the rock. What they meant though, she had no idea. Aderian kneeled in front of it and took out what looked like a chisel from one of his pockets. Then, he started to carve something into the rock.

‘Wouldn’t it be easier if you used a hammer?’

‘It would if this was an ordinary carving, but this job is far to important for me to risk damaging these delicate carvings,’ he said.

‘What do they mean,’ she said, ‘these symbols?’

Aderian stopped carving and pointed to a circular symbol resembling the sun. ‘This one here means land and this one’ —he pointed at an upside down triangle next to it—‘represents protection. Both of them are ancient symbols of power which we use for more permanent spellwork. Sadly, the rocks in this area often get damaged by the weather. If that continues, we will have to find an alternative, lest we weaken our defences.’

So it was maintenance that he was doing, like when Uncle Vernon called the technician to fix the telly. Aderian didn’t really look like a technician, but this was a rock and not a telly.

She watched him carve and scratch the rock with the chisel for at least a quarter of an hour before he was finally done. Little by little a symbol started to take shape. It was a fair bit more intricate than most others with it’s snout, eyes and horns. 

‘It’s just like the one before it,’ she said, looking at the duplicate symbol.

He added a few finishing touches and stood up. ‘You noticed that, have you? Yes, it’s purpose is the same as it’s brother’s. That might seem useless, but I couldn’t simply carve over the old one. It still functions, albeit not as strongly.’

‘I was going to ask about it.’

‘And I knew you would, so I thought we might as well get that out of the way now. The sooner we get moving, the better. Come.’

And so they continued skirting the edge of the city, looking for that discreet entrance. It gave her time to mull over the older of the twin symbols. It was damaged, that was true enough, but it didn’t look like something rain could do. It looked like someone tried and failed to melt it off the rock.

Her musings were interrupted when they finally entered an alleyway, a surprisingly clean and well-maintained one. Little Whinging couldn’t boast about something like that. Maybe spells were used for cleaning here? That sounded a bit excessive though.

The two of them walked down the alley in complete silence, turning left or right every few minutes. She tried to keep track of their path, in case she had to find her way back, but keeping track of all the twists and turns proved impossible. At one point she spotted the flat top of an enormous pyramid, towering above the dull red rooftops. It was decorated even better than the other buildings. Every edge of it’s floors was framed with intricate, golden bars. The walls looked like they had pictures painted on them, but she couldn’t be sure from this distance.

‘Is that where we are going?’ she whispered.

‘Yes, child. That ziggurat is the Western Temple. Elder Azar usually spends her time at the Palace Square, but today she is studying some ancient scriptures at the temple’s library,’ he whispered back. ‘We are getting quite close now. You should be quiet; we mustn’t attract attention.’

He put a finger on his lips and beckoned. Then, they tiptoed over to an underpass. She marvelled at the many scenes portrayed on it’s walls. One of them depicted a woman in white robes preaching to a crowd. The next one displayed the same woman leading other white-robed people away from a city. The third one simply pictured a massive construction site.

‘This underpass here leads to the entrance of our burial grounds, but it also hides a passage to the Western Temple.’ He pointed to a section of the wall portraying a large, circular door engraved with more of those symbols she didn’t understand. ‘I see you noticed the murals. They tell the story of our arrival. I am sure that Elder Azar will tell you all about it.’ 

He took out a piece of paper from his pocket, pointed his right hand towards the painted door and mumbled something. His fingertips glowed azure for a second or two and then, much to her surprise, the wall with the painted door faded away. She was well aware that she was gawking at it like Dudley at a maths problem, but she couldn’t help it. Magic was just so awesome! What wondrous things will her powers let her do?

Aderian folded the piece of paper and put it back into his pocket. ‘Now then, stay close to me at all times; these tunnels aren’t very well maintained,’ he said and picked up an old miner’s torch that was hanging from a tunnel wall. That was the first piece of technology she had seen in this place thus far.

She nodded and they stepped into the tunnel, one after the other. She could see now why Aderian warned her to stay close. The tunnel was grimy and big cobwebs were everywhere. It’s mossy walls and cracked bricks were a shocking change from the shiny, clean city. It’s appearance, though, did not make it any less confusing to navigate. It was as much of a labyrinth as the narrow alleyways they had just walked through. 

And it stank pretty bad too. It was almost as bad as her cupboard. ‘Why is it so dark down here? Was it so hard to put up some lights?’

Aderian responded with a hearty chuckle. ‘I could not tell you for certain,’ he started, ‘but it is seldom used. Besides, this torch does the job just as fine as anything else. Waste not, want not I say.’

After navigating the tunnel for a good five minutes they seemingly reached their goal. In front of them lay an identical picture of a circular door to the one on the entrance. Aderian pushed a button on the centre of it.

The wall rumbled, unlike the other one. When it was quite done, she was greeted by a small but luxurious bedroom. It’s walls were pristine white with various creatures and flowers painted on them in many shades of blue and yellow. There was not much furniture, but the little of it was beautiful. A small bed with thick, white sheets took up the entire outer wall, right bellow a small window. Next to it stood a bright brown night stand. On the opposite side of the room, just left of the door was a big, brown wardrobe. Everything looked like it came from a manor.

The only person in the room was to her right. It was a woman with long, grey hair. She was sitting in front of a vanity mirror, calmly brushing her hair. That must be Elder Azar. She certainly looked elderly. With all the magic that was used here one would think she could make herself look youthful, but it wasn’t so.

Aderian and herself continued to stand there, in complete silence, while Elder Azar was finishing up with her brushing. This was just like what Aunt Petunia taught her to do when she was younger; wait while she was doing who knows what. Proper behaviour, that was what she called it. It looked more like something Dudley did with his band of followers than proper behaviour or good manners.

‘I must say, dear, that I expected you to come much earlier than this. However, even I make mistakes from time to time, but this time I am glad to be wrong.’ Elder Azar stood up, her chair creaking against the stone floor. 

‘What do you mean madam?’

‘Oh my, I haven’t been called a madam in quite some time. How nice of you,’ she said.

She blushed; she wasn’t very used to compliments. ‘You’re welcome.’

Azar smiled. ‘Although you won’t remember me, I have known you since you were a newborn baby. You see, I met your parents in their most troubled of times. In fact, that is why you are here.’

Time stopped. Light stood still, sounds vanished and nothing moved besides the thoughts in her head. Her parents? Her poor mum and dad who died in a car crash. The no good drunks who were a waste of space. They knew someone as great as Elder Azar, the woman who addressed a whole city’s worth of magical people?

‘Oh, really?’

‘It is the truth. I sensed your great power and the many dangers it would lead you to, so I made that for you,’ she said and pointed at her precious pendant.

‘You made my pendant?’ 

She waited for the confirmation, her world starting to crumble.

‘Yes.’

And with that one word it was gone. What she thought was her heritage, gone in an instant. The only thing that brought her closure every night, that connected her to the two people that she would never know.

‘I thought it was my mum’s,’ she whispered. The dam started to crack, but she wouldn’t cry. She was stronger than that. The window cracked.

Azar grabbed her by the shoulders. ‘Do not cry, dear. Your parents loved you very much and nothing will ever change that,’ she said. And with that final strike, her dam broke. With tears in her eyes she hugged her, looking for comfort. The window exploded, shattered by her dark power.

‘There there.’ Azar kept patting her on the back. It felt nice, being comforted by someone. This must be how other kids felt when their parents hugged them.

After crying out enough tears to form a small stream and damaging some furniture, she managed to put herself back together. It wasn’t as bad this time, the damage. It must be because Elder Azar was making sure that she was OK.

‘Thank you for caring, Elder Azar.’

‘It is Azar for you, dear. Now give me your best smile,’ she said, smiling herself.

And so she did. Funny, she never smiled for someone else before. She only frowned.

‘Good,’ she started, ‘now let me take you to your room. You have had an exhausting day.’


	2. The Golden City of Azarath

Her eyes opened slowly, cordially greeting the morning sunlight. Wait, sunlight? In her cupboard? And the ceiling was all wrong; there were no planks on it. Did she fall asleep in the living room by accident? Uncle Vernon won’t like that one bit. Hopefully, they won’t make her clean the bathroom floor with a toothbrush again. That punishment was the most frustrating one she had had so far. 

She quickly got off the sofa, only to notice that the sofa was not a sofa. It was a bed, and a very classy one at that. Definitely not something her aunt and uncle could afford. 

Then she noticed the living room, only it was not one at all. She was in someone else’s bedroom, which also looked classy yet simple with its creamy yellow walls and polished, dark wooden furniture. It was also very stuffy. She coughed rapidly. Time to get some fresh air.

She walked over to the lone small window. Funny, the room looked similar to the one in her—Oh. Once opened, it gave her a view to a relatively familiar white-gold city. So it was not a dream then; it absolutely happened. She assaulted her cousins and made a mess of their house, and then she was taken away to a magical land full of remarkable beauty and precious secrets. 

It was such an unreal thing to think about. Her, the unwanted, friendless girl was whisked somewhere far away. The first thing she did? Went to a city with some suspicious strangers. It must have been the emotional shock, but that didn’t mean that she now wasn’t mentally kicking herself. How many times had the nice policemen told her not to go anywhere with strangers? At least seven, which was more effort than people typically went to just for her.

There were so many things she still wanted— no, needed to ask. She stomped her foot on the ground. How could she have been so foolish? She had the opportunity to find out so much, yet in her delirium, she had forgotten to ask any vital questions. Elder Azar could definitely answer them. However, as an important figurehead of the city, she was probably too busy to see her right now. Well, maybe someone else would be willing to help her? 

Moving silently, she opened the bedroom door. It did not creak, unlike the one at Privet Drive. She carefully peeked out from the bedroom. There was a massive square room open to the sky outside. A colonnade was rimming a small herbal garden. In the middle of it, sitting on a stone bench under a small fig tree, someone was painting. She walked some four or five feet closer to get a better look.

It was Azar. Evidently, she wasn’t as busy as she had thought. This was an excellent opportunity to get some answers. 

‘Good morning, Violet. Have you slept well?’ she asked. 

Apparently, Azar had some very good senses. Someone so old usually failed to notice people in the same room as them, let alone someone behind a bush on the edge of a garden. Was it because of magic?

‘I have, thank you very much.’ Morning? It was about mid-afternoon when she fell asleep. ‘How long have I been asleep for?’

Azar rubbed her chin. ‘Well, if my pocket watch runs correctly, it’s twelve minutes past ten. That makes just over nineteen hours.’

‘Nineteen hours!?’ she shouted, causing the bush in front of her to explode. ‘How is that possible?’ 

Azar looked at her, smiling softly. ‘You had an exhausting day yesterday, Violet. Using the pendant at your age is quite a task.’

She cocked her head. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Travelling between dimensions requires quite a bit of energy. A trained adult wouldn’t even feel it when they have the pendant helping them, but for a child like you it is still quite exhausting,’ she said.

‘I thought your pendant brought me here?’

Elder Azar put the paintbrush down and looked at her. ‘It was merely a focus. It is certainly possible to make such an item, but it would make for a dangerous weapon in the wrong hands.’

She scratched her head. ‘How does that work?’

‘Come closer.’ Azar patted the empty space next to her. ‘I will illustrate it for you. Perhaps that will help.’

She walked over to the tree, the gravelly path crunching underneath her feet, and sat down on the bench.

‘This will do.’ Azar picked up the longest of the few fallen sticks and branches, and she started drawing in the gravel. A few strokes later, there were two identical pictures in it. 

‘This here represents the way amulet works currently.’ She pointed to the first drawing. It was a simple image of a girl next to an arrow pointing to the pendant. ‘You used your specific magical energy, albeit subconsciously, and the pendant absorbed, transformed and redirected it. The end result is you arriving in our dimension.

‘This, however—’ she pointed to the second drawing, ‘—represents the pendant bringing you here without your magic interacting with it.’ The drawing was nearly identical to the first one, but there was no arrow. ‘Since it is required for this situation that it doesn’t interact with your powers, it has to interact with your will. You would have to will to go to Azarath and it would bring you here without exhausting the magic of any living creature. At least not directly.’

She placed the stick back where she found it and turned to look at her. ‘Do you see the danger of the second situation?’ she asked.

She did. It was hard to miss it when someone put it so bluntly. ‘If they had the pendant, anyone that knew of Azarath, or even of other dimensions, could come here with no problems at all.’

‘Correct.’ Azar shifted in her seat. ‘It would present a huge danger to us, leaving something like that in the outside world for so many years.’

‘You mean that someone could have come looking for me? Even if I didn’t have the right amulet?’

‘Someone most assuredly would have if we didn’t take precautions, but that is a story for another day.’ Elder Azar stood up. ‘I want you to go on a little tour with me and meet some people. There are still many things for you to learn. Our culture is one of them.’ 

The question was a bit abrupt, but it wasn’t like she had anything better to do, so she nodded her approval. ‘Sure! I’d love to see the sights.’

They walked side-by-side towards the exit. It was a big gate that stood right across of the bedroom where she had been sleeping. ‘You know, we have seen much throughout our history and I am certain that you will hear many wise things,’ she said.

‘Would you tell me something wise, Elder Azar?’

Azar smiled at her. ‘I had wanted to wait until we were done with our little excursion, but I may as well tell you now. Have you any idea why I am doing all of this? Why you are being told so many things yet you understand little?’

What was there to question? Adults gave convoluted answers all the time. ‘Well, I think that with all this magic laying around you wouldn’t want a stranger discovering its secrets. What if I decided to do something bad?’

Azar hummed in approval. ‘There is something else, though. She looked at her pensively, almost wistfully. ‘You might have noticed that your powers are visibly very different to ours.’

‘I have.’ It was quite obvious. Everything magical here was bright and full of colour, yet whatever she did sucked everything dry like a sponge.

‘You also might have concluded that they are harmful and that we would desire to control them.’

That was a scary thought. One of those that stopped you from sleeping and made you check under your bed every now and again. If only it hadn’t been haunting her since her outburst.

‘Well, as our moral and spiritual leader I want to assure you that we mean you no harm. I know that your escorts’ silence and secrecy did not endear you to us, but you must understand what you represent to them. You are an anomaly.’

She scratched her head again. ‘An anomaly? What is that?’ She thought about the word for a moment, and then made her guess. ‘Does that mean that I am an outsider?’

Azar nodded. ‘Yes, it means are an outsider and out of the ordinary. You see, our prosperity comes at the cost of isolationism. Under those conditions, fear of strangers springs up like mushrooms after rain.’

‘They are scared of me?’ She frowned. ‘That makes no sense! They are all so much stronger than me.’ After all, what could a weak, little girl like her do?

Azar shook her head. ‘They do not fear the power you could attain. Rather, they fear the cultural influence you bring. You may still be a child, yet you are old enough to be set in the ways of the outside world that we separated ourselves from many a decade ago. Their ways are not compatible with ours.’

She just stared at Azar, eyes wide. That was so much more complicated than what she had proposed. Then, she smiled, filled with elation. ‘You said “Their ways are not compatible with ours,” and not “Your ways are not compatible with ours”. Does that mean you think I can be like you, and not like the outsiders?’

‘I do,’ she said, and then gave her a chilling look. ‘It will not be easy, but I believe that it is the only way for you to live unaffected by your powers.’

She steeled herself. It may not be easy, but she would show Elder Azar that she was worthy of the trust and all the effort that she was putting into her. ‘I’ll do it!’

‘Hmm, how do you feel about starting immediately?’ she asked her.

‘Right now? Sure! Only—’ she turned her head away ‘—I don’t really know what to do. The only important thing I know is that my powers are controlled by emotions, but I don’t know how to control them!’ Her shoulders sunk. It was a horrible experience. Being vaguely told what to do, fail at it and then get berated because of it. 

Azar’s face visibly softened. ‘My dear, I would never expect you to know or learn something so difficult on your own— Nobody here would. Wherever did you get that idea?’ she asked, and looked at her in bewilderment. 

The shiny white floor caught her eye. How did they keep it so clean?

A hand rubbed her shoulder, making her flinch. No fingers dug into it, and there was nobody yanking her backwards. Another reminder that the Dursleys are not the measure of normal by any stretch of the imagination. She smiled weakly and glanced behind into Elder Azar’s eyes. ‘When my family wants me to do something, they only give me the most basic of instructions and expect from me to do a flawless job. I thought that someone in your position would expect the same. Leaders are busy people, after all.’

‘Oh? And what are your thoughts on their expectations?’ An eyebrow rose in question.

Her body quivered. Her thoughts? Well, Elder Azar has been shattering her assumptions about the world ever since they met and was showing no signs of stopping. Maybe speaking out around her was safe? 

‘Well, I think it is incredibly unreasonable. Unless you are some kind of genius, basic instructions are never enough.’

‘I agree,’ said Azar. ‘That is precisely why you will never have to experience that from me, and hopefully, from anyone else in Azarath.’ She faced her with a serious expression. ‘If you do, tell me immediately. And never forget, I will always have time for you.’

She would, because it was at that moment when she realised that Elder Azar was someone who cared. She was someone to whom, for some inexplicable reason, her well-being mattered. It was curious, what she was feeling right now. It was like every other time she was happy, only there was someone else to be happy with and about.

‘Of course!’ 

That came out much more cheerful than she wanted it to, but she really couldn’t help it. She liked this new feeling.

Azar smiled again. she found the smile brighter than before. Come to think of it, she sure smiled a lot. ‘Well then, now that we have left the grounds of the Western Temple we will make our way to the Palace Square, the most important place in Azarath.’ She turned to look at her ‘You must have seen it while we were walking down the stairs. The view is quite something.’

She hadn’t seen it, being too busy talking and thinking about Elder Azar to notice anything else. She nodded anyway. ‘I have.’

‘Good. Now, if we are lucky, we will run into some important people on the way.’

‘And if we don’t?’

‘Well, I suppose you can tell me about your experience with Aderian and the girls. I’d like to know what you think of them.’

And so, they started to walk towards the Palace Square. They entered and left the square that surrounded the grounds of the Western Temple relatively quickly. Neither were there many people occupying it nor were there many market stalls. Judging by that and the lack of any big, fancy buildings or shop signs, this must be the part of the city where ordinary people lived in.

That said, she wasn’t any less awed by the city than when she had first seen it with Aderian. Even now that she was quietly walking alongside Elder Azar, the shining buildings of marble and gold topped by the occasional crimson roof took her breath away. Oh, and the people she was catching glimpses of in these narrow streets! They were all so pretty with their clean robes and scant pieces of jewellery. Why, she couldn’t even tell the difference between most of them. They all really lived well here.

As she kept looking at them, some of the people glanced back for a moment or two. Most just quickly broke eye contact and hurriedly went on with their business, but a few looked downright horrified and did their best to avoid further contact. She thought they would have run away if Elder Azar were not present. How did they know? She looked perfectly normal and hadn’t been using her powers. It had to have been Aderian who had spread the news and now half of Azarath was talking who knows what about her. Not that she could blame them for being scared, if what Elder Azar said was true, and there was no doubt in her mind that it was.

Those interactions between her and the other Azarathians continued for a while before Elder Azar stopped walking. They were standing in front of a building that was so tall that one could comfortably call it a tower, its red rooftop standing high above the surrounding buildings. Like the other buildings, it was built from white marble and accented with golden tablets depicting some events, golden pillars, and various other decorations. 

‘Wait here a moment, would you? The person that lives and works in this tower sometimes conducts some dangerous experiments. I wouldn’t want you to walk in and get hurt by accident,’ she said, and went to knock on the door.

‘Wait! What about you?’

‘Oh, don’t worry. Not even the most dangerous things he experiments with can seriously hurt me,’ she said with a modest amount of pride.

The bright red wooden door opened, revealing a substantial amount of damage on its inside. Some parts of it were burnt while others had holes. Besides that, there were signs that someone had repaired it on multiple occasions, as shown by the interrupted damage patterns. 

What slightly creeped her out was the lack of anyone standing behind it. Did the door open remotely like those fancy garage doors?

Elder Azar just shook her head disapprovingly. ‘Him and his “conveniences”. You wouldn’t be able to get him to be present even if Azarath was collapsing,’ she said, and walked through the door.

She quickly followed, not wanting to get locked out by whatever thing was in charge of the door. After walking up two pairs of stairs, she took a look around the room that made up the first floor. For a tower with a magical door, it was mildly disappointing. The entirety of it was basically a slightly larger waiting hall. All things you could imagine were there: coat and umbrella stands, mirrors, chairs, and a small table with boring magazines. It was squeaky clean, too. 

‘I’m coming! I’m coming!’ shouted someone. The voice sounded very dry and old, as if the person shouting had partially lost their voice.

Running down the stone stairs with black marble tread was an old man in a funny dress. It vaguely resembled the white robe commonly worn here. She couldn’t be sure, though, because it was horribly grimy, stained in a number of colours over numerous areas, and had scorch marks on its outermost edges. Maybe if she squinted her eyes it would look better. In the dark.

Despite his apparent age and the long robes he was wearing, he managed to run down from wherever he had been without falling or breaking a sweat. He didn’t even stop to catch his breath before grabbing Elder Azar’s right hand with both of his hands and shaking it very enthusiastically.

‘Oh, the honour, Elder Azar! I do not even remember when you had last paid me a visit. Usually the elders send me messages requesting my presence for this or that. They rarely, if ever, come in person!’ he said, not leaving out any of his enthusiasm.

If Elder Azar found the man’s actions annoying, she certainly did not show it. Her face remained blank. ‘Well, Otto, today I do not require your brilliant ideas. I have here someone I would like you to meet.’

So that was his name. It felt very appropriate for him.

She should introduce herself. It would be rude to keep Otto waiting. ‘Hello, sir. My name is Violet.’

He looked at her in surprise, then he stroked his short beard while gazing at her, and after that he smiled from ear to ear. ‘I am most pleased to meet your acquaintance. I am Otto Greenwood, Azarath’s expert on obscure sorceries, their laws, and other peculiar magical occurrences. If you ever encounter something odd that is magical in nature, come and see me! I am sure I will be able to help you.’

The only thing she understood from all of that is that he worked with weird magic. She glanced at Elder Azar for clarification.

‘Magic is practised in Azarath and our sorceries are powerful, but it is all very arcane to us. Otto’s work makes that less true,’ she said.

She still didn’t understand what those words meant. She got the impression from Aderian that they all meant the same thing, but evidently it wasn’t true. ‘What is the difference between magic, sorcery, and arcane?’

‘Ah, you did not attend our school?’ Otto interrupted. ‘Well then, it is all quite simple, really. When we say sorcery, we refer to a specific power; magic is the force beings can wield to shape the world around them quickly and noticeably; something arcane is something known to few, like most magical practices; a spell, in this context, is the effect of sorceries. You mustn’t confuse sorceries and spells,’ spoke Otto. He sounded like a student answering his teacher’s question.

‘Oh, I understand now. I hope I do not forget all of that.’

Elder Azar nodded approvingly. ‘You see, Violet? I am far from the only knowledgeable person in Azarath. You will find many others who, like dear Otto, know a lot about their life’s passion, and that isn’t restricted to magic. We have men and women from all walks of life.’

Otto smiled and nodded. ‘Very true, very true. If you want to learn something, do not be shy to ask the people around you. Someone will point you to the right person!’

Oh, how she hoped that was true, but those looks she was getting earlier hadn’t been very encouraging in that regard. Still, this was the fifth person she has talked to since she had arrived here and they were all friendly to her! Well, except Aderian. He was weird and she still didn’t trust him. Even though Elder Azar’s explanation made a lot of sense, he didn’t quite fit into it.

‘Sadly, we must get going, Otto. We still have to pay a visit to Arella and Lawrence at the palace square,’ said Elder Azar.

Arella? Another exotic name.

‘Do say hello to them for me, would you? I haven’t seen either of them in ages.’

‘Don’t worry Otto, I will.’ Elder Azar turned to her. ‘Say goodbye, Violet.’

She nodded and gave Otto Greenwood her best smile. ‘Goodbye, Mr. Greenwood.’

‘Goodbye, Violet. Do visit every now and again,’ he said with a smile.

She left Otto’s tower right after Elder Azar. She gently waved another goodbye just before the red door closed itself behind them. Then, she turned around to face Elder Azar. ‘Who are those people that you mentioned to Mr. Otto?’

Elder Azar glanced at her. ‘Arella and Lawrence? Two very nice young people who you will encounter at the temple from time to time. Well, Arella more so than Lawrence. He is quite busy these days,’ she said.

Would they be her babysitters or teachers? ‘Oh? And what do they do?’

‘Lawrence is one of the priests at the Western Temple, but he is more than capable of holding higher positions. That is why he is slated to become one of the five high priests. Arella, on the other hand, does not hold any significant position, but she is devoutly committed to Azarath and spends many hours in purifying contemplation.’

So they were both people who were regularly present at the temple. With Elder Azar’s time-consuming position it was likely that these two would serve as both her teachers and babysitters. So why was she taken to meet Otto? So she had someone to bother with complicated questions? She really wasn’t sure. If her logic was right, she would finally have teachers who cared! After all, Elder Azar was too nice for anything else.

With those happy, exciting thoughts firmly occupying her mind, she continued to walk besides the amazing woman that was Elder Azar. After some time had passed, they walked into a large, open square. 

She gasped and slowly looked around, taking in the visage.

It was packed with people in identical white robes with some accessories sprinkled in. Cafes, benches, fountains, and podiums were dotted all over the place with dozens of stalls mixed in. The really impressive thing lie behind what was presumably Palace Square; A massive, towering structure dwarfed every other building in the city, and that included Otto’s tower. 

Elder Azar took down her hood. ‘That, my dear, is the Palace of Azaratah Our chief gathering ground for ceremonies, rituals, and meditation.’ She spoke with great pride in her voice. Clearly, construction of a structure of epic proportions such as these could not have been easy. It must had taken them years, even with the use of magic!

The structure itself stood out from the rest of the city in so many ways that it was actually hard for her to notice everything. The stairs went on for so long that they gave the appearance of rising endlessly into the sky. On its sides there were other, smaller buildings, but still really tall, which had many windows, balconies, and towers attached to them. Every one of the many corners on the various roofs had some sort of golden, curved spike. She found them to be very pretty, but then again so was the rest of the city. It was pretty, fancy, and exotic.

‘It is quite something I agree,’ said Elder Azar. She must have noticed her awe. Standing dumbstruck as she did was a bit of a giveaway.

She merely nodded. ‘It is really impressive. How did you build something so huge!?’ She couldn’t help but whisper.

‘A lot of effort and ingenious thought combined with no small amount of sorceries.’

‘How long did it take you to build it? It must have been years!’

Elder Azar chuckled. ‘I would not say years. It took us eight long months, but we built it.’

She sounded quite satisfied with that. Those must have been good times to make some friends and build a community.

‘Eight months? I would have sooner guessed eight years!’ 

She chuckled again, and then motioned for her to follow. ‘Come, I think I see Arella and Lawrence in the distance.’

And so, the two of them started to make their way through the crowd with her flanking Elder Azar on her right. As they did so, someone would bow slightly to Elder Azar every now and again.

‘Arella! Lawrence!’ Elder Azar called out.

Two people sitting and chatting on a stone bench under a golden statute of some Azarathian woman rose up and bowed to Elder Azar. ‘Good day, Elder Azar,’ they said, greeting her.

‘Good day to both of you,’ she greeted back. ‘I have someone I would like for you to meet.’ She put her hand on her back and gently nudged her forward.

‘Hello, my name is Violet,’ she said, and then bowed deeply. She figured that it was the polite thing to do here. When the three of them smiled, she knew she figured it right.

‘Hello to you too, Violet,’ said the woman, and bowed just as deeply. ‘I am Arella.’

The man did the same. ‘And I am Lawrence, priest of the Western Temple.’

Arella knelt down and looked her directly into her eyes. Green eyes met purple. ‘You know, there is something awfully familiar about you.’ She stared at her intently for a moment longer before shaking her head. ‘Oh, what am I saying? I haven’t left Azarath since I came here. It’s probably just a passing resemblance.’

While Arella was busy contemplating her apparent resemblance to someone, Lawrence had been busy exchanging knowing glances with Elder Azar. Were they using some sorcery that allowed them to talk without interruption, or was she simply overthinking things?

‘So, you are the girl I and Arella will be teaching when Elder Azar is attending her duties? I must say that you are not at all like what we expected you to be like,’ Lawrence spoke up.

‘Oh? How so?’ She looked at him, feeling curious.

Her two newly proclaimed teachers looked at each other. Then, Lawrence spoke up again, ‘You seem a lot more mature than other children you age. Not everyone learns and notices things as quickly as you do.’

Her cheeks heated up. ‘Thank you.’

‘You look really adorable when you are blushing like that,’ said Arella.

Now they were burning so hot that it hurt. She couldn’t even respond out of the sheer embarrassment she was feeling. 

Arella chuckled. ‘You really are not helping your situation with that expression,’ she said. ‘Well, I believe that Elder Azar wants to spend the rest of the day teaching you the very basics of magic, so I do not want to hold you up any longer.’

‘And I have some business to attend to in the Palace,’ added Lawrence.

She looked at Elder Azar. ‘Do we really have to go?’

Elder Azar gave her a sunken smile. ‘I am afraid so. You have some very busy days ahead of you, and I do not have time to waste either. I lead Azarath, after all.’

She slumped her shoulders. ‘I guess I will see you soon?’ she asked, giving them a ghost of a smile.

Arella ruffled her hair. ‘Tomorrow, if you study hard enough today,’ she said.

If she was a good student? Well, that won’t be an issue. She had to dumb her work down for Dudley’s sake, after all. 

‘I will! You can bet on that!’ she told her.

Lawrence waved her goodbye. ‘We will see each other tomorrow, then,’ he said.

She waved him goodbye back and proceeded to follow Elder Azar back to the Western Temple at a hurried pace. An exciting reward awaited her at the end of the road: her first lesson in magic!

**AN: So, here we are. I finally finished the second chapter. Expect updates to happen every two weeks or so. As always, please give me feedback. I really want to know if the story has been interesting or boring so far, especially regarding the first chapter. I am really concerned that it wasn’t interesting enough to keep you readers interested.**


	3. Many Teachings

‘Clear your mind, Violet. Cleanse it from any thoughts or emotions,’ said Elder Azar.  
It’s not like she hadn’t been trying to do that for the last quarter of an hour. When Arella had told her she would be learning magic earlier today, this was not what she imagined. She imagined she would be learning sorceries, incantations, and maybe even magical languages. Instead, Elder Azar had elected to teach her the art of meditation. It made sense because she had to control her emotions somehow, but that didn’t change the fact that it wasn’t magical.

‘Breath in through your nose, breathe out through your mouth. Repeat those actions and concentrate on them. Ignore the sounds of the bustling city and the chirping of birds.’

Sitting opposite of her, also in the lotus position, Elder Azar was demonstrating the proper positioning of limbs, fingers, and crucially, how to sit straight.

‘I will try, Elder.’ She frowned, closed her eyes, and focused. Take a deep breath, then slowly breathe out. Repeat.

After several minutes of concentrating on the cycle, she found that it was, indeed, effective. Her mind was devoid of anything else. She permitted herself a small, self-satisfied smile.

‘Ah, it is working? That is impressive for a beginner like yourself. However, you are not finished learning meditation yet. When casting certain sorceries, you will require higher levels of concentration than you currently know how to achieve,’ she said.

That implied powerful and destructive sorceries, which she did not like to think about, much less perform. ‘And how do I do that? More complex ways of breathing?’ she asked, not letting the slight irritation seep into her voice.

Elder Azar snorted. ‘Ha! Nothing like that. I will be teaching you a mantra. It is an arcane one so you will remember Azarath, your home, each time you chant it.’

‘A mantra? What is that? Is it a way to cast sorceries?’ she asked, her head tilted and eyebrow raised.

‘Sometimes, but not always. It can be anything from a sacred utterance to an incantation of some sorcery. In your case, for now, it is merely a tool to focus your mind.’

She looked up and to the right, considered the possibility of a specific mantra increasing certain magical abilities or sorceries, and then nodded. ‘What do I have to say?’

‘It is quite short. Only three words to remember, but each of those words has an important meaning.’ Elder Azar peered into her eyes. ‘Are you ready?’

Feeling confident, she clenched her fists and spoke with cold determination, ‘I am.’

‘Then listen carefully. The first word of the mantra is Azarath. It is your home and the place that gives you tranquillity.

‘The second word is Metrion. It means middle. When you speak it, balance your focus between the emotions that give you power and the calm void in your mind that keeps them in check.

‘The last word is Zinthos. It stands for zenith, just as it stands as the name of the tallest peak in Azarath. Speak it when you strike Metrion and feel the clarity and elation that comes with perfect balance. It will focus your power to where you will it.’

Azarath, Metrion, and Zinthos. Three words that will help her attain control over herself. ‘May I practise it now?’ she asked.

‘You must,’ she ordered. ‘You need to achieve basic control over the mantra so Arella and Lawrence can teach you tomorrow.’

She nodded again. ‘Alright, here I go.

‘Azarath.’ She breathed in and remembered the tranquil wilderness of Azarath that had welcomed her into this world yesterday.

‘Metrion.’ She focused both on her raging emotions and calm breathing. The process took a while. She constantly pulled focus from one to the other only to find out it was too much. But eventually, she found them. She grasped and curbed them into the back of her mind, especially so with her desires for success and freedom.

For a single moment, she felt perfectly calm. ‘Zinthos,’ she said and breathed out.

She opened her eyes. Everything looked the same, but Elder Azar was smiling, her chest puffed out.

‘Excellently done, Violet. I have not expected you to find both Metrion and Zinthos on your first try. It took a while, something expected from a novice, but you managed to make that Roman jar levitate!’ she proclaimed, and pointed to the clay jar on the round bedside table.

‘I did?’ She looked at the jar in question. It looked quite old and was full of flowers. However, the flowers were facing the door and not towards the window. She must have spun it around in tandem with the levitation. Excitement filled her, but she reined it in. ‘I did!’

‘This concludes your lessons for today. If you want to, practise some more before you go to bed.’ Elder Azar stood up. ‘When you manage to master the mantra, I will add some more complex techniques to your meditation sessions. Maybe you will breeze through them as quickly as you breezed through the basics.’

She watched Elder Azar leave her bedroom and close the door, and all the while she was grinning from ear to ear. She managed to achieve Zinthos on her first attempt! It had been a gruelling task, but the satisfaction made it worthwhile.

It did mean that she really couldn’t bring herself to practise it some more as Elder Azar had asked her to. It will have to wait until morning.

She looked to the door and considered whether or not she could be bothered to wash her teeth before collapsing on the bed. After all, hygiene was important. After deciding that she would, she took a step forward and immediately fell onto the cold, stone floor. Reaching Zinthos must have taken a lot more out of her than she had though.

Oh well, personal hygiene will have to wait until morning too. She got up, wobbled over to her bed, and crawled underneath the sheets without even taking off her new, white robe. She closed her eyes and soon lost consciousness.

Her eyes fluttered open again to the sounds of wind whistling through trees and crackling thunder. There was no sign of civilization anywhere around her. This wilderness looked familiar, though. Sure, there may not be anything growing here, the trees may be dead or decayed, and all that remained may be barren rock, but this barren wasteland was familiar to her. She ran forward and climbed on top of a large rock in order to get a better look. When she stepped on its top, the realisation hit her. This was Azarath! Only, something was very wrong with it.

The ground began to shake. At first, she barely noticed it, but then it quickly turned very violent. It was a massive earthquake! It was so strong that it easily split the land into islands floating in a void littered with crimson stars.

She quickly glanced around. While her island was still in place, the others had either tumbled far below or risen way up high. If the quaking knocked her off, the fall could seriously hurt her. She grasped the rock with all her might, lodged her feet into its crevices, and tightly shut her eyes.

Her grip on the rock loosened when a particularly bad quake shook the island. Another one made her lose it completely. Unable to retain composure during her fall, she flailed her arms wildly and screamed. It all stopped when her body crashed into an island below.

She groaned. How strange; she was still alive. Stranger still, she didn’t feel a thing. Didn’t she just fall off of an equivalent of a two-storey building? She squeezed and poked at a number of different places on her body, checking if she broke anything in the fall. She found nothing out of place and that everything was whole. Then, she sat down and leaned against the rock. After what has just happened, she could use a break.

Reality hit her. Nobody but herself was still in Azarath. Elder Azar, Otto, Arella, Lawrence, and all the other Azarathians were gone, maybe even dead. She started to cry, several tears already making their way down her cheeks. Why did they have to go away? It wasn’t fair! Why was she cursed to be isolated from the world like some kind of dangerous criminal?

She sobbed loudly into the void. The rock she has been leaning on split in two, startling her.

No—she must meditate. She must keep her emotions calm like Elder Azar has been teaching her. She would remember her brief time in paradise by living like its people.

She twisted her arms and legs into the required positions and started to deeply breathe. ‘Azarath,’ she chanted, remembering the shining city.

‘Metrion’ She focused on the breathing and calmed her emotions. Balance, however, she couldn’t achieve. Why couldn’t she combine them like before? Again, she tried and failed to bring them to balance.

It just didn’t want to work. Her emotions were running too strong! Maybe if she tried to—

‘Zinthos!’ shouted a deep, powerful voice. Out of nowhere, a strong wind pushed away all of the other islands, leaving her isolated and out in the open. Two pairs of large, red eyes popped up in the void far above her. Laughter echoed around Azarath in the same voice.

‘We meet at last!’ said the voice. ‘You cannot imagine how long I have waited for this moment!’

Her knees buckled under the overwhelming power of the voice, but she got back up. This was no time to be weak. ‘I am not afraid of you, whoever you are!’ she shouted.

‘You are. You simply are not aware of it yet,’ gloated the voice.

‘Like I haven’t heard that line before! You are just another insecure bully!’ she yelled back.

‘But I am so much more than that. I am power incarnate!’

What? The voice wasn’t even fazed by her rebuke. Her method either sent bullies packing or made them even angrier. Her confidence dropped like a rock.

‘Here, let me give you a tiny taste of my might,’ it said.

A multitude of crimson red auras seeped out of its eyes and shot towards her. It shattered the ground in front of her like cannon shells. She was barely dodging them as they kept shattering everything left and right. Reduced to jumping like a cat, she became aware that whatever the mysterious entity was, it was merely toying with her.

‘Now, the time for games is over!’ said the voice, obviously irritated, for whatever reason, at her success. The red auras stopped attacking her and merged together. Then, that one massive ball of energy shot directly at her. Her limp body slammed into the split rock beside her, the only solid thing left on the island.

Although it didn’t hurt her, it was exhausting, both mentally and physically. ‘Who are you?’ she spat out. ‘Answer me!’

Instead of answering, the voice laughed. It irritated her, its constant air of superiority. It angered her. It made her mad. Then, she saw red. She threw caution to the wind and without even knowing what she was doing, she attacked those damned eyes in the sky. The first thing to go flying were the two pieces of that rock she had landed on earlier. They harmlessly flew through the eyes. Then she started to throw pieces of the island at it. They did the same amount of damage as the rock. Little by little, there was almost no island left and she was forced to cease her assault.

‘Why won’t you die?’ she shouted.

‘Because I am something you cannot destroy. I am you in your purest form, fuelled by anger, hate, and resentment. I am what you are destined to become!’

‘No! Never!’

‘Yes! I will show you your destiny!’

‘Well I don’t want to see it!’ she shouted, her voice defiant. 

But her own self wouldn’t listen. It gave her a vision. It was herself, only clouded in darkness and four glowing red eyes. She was killing Elder Azar. She tried to take control, but it was in vain. Then came another vision. And another. And another. And all the while she could hear laughter all around her.

She screamed.

And then she woke up. It was still very dark, so she couldn’t have been sleeping for long.

With heavy breaths and clothes damp from sweat, she dragged herself out of the bed and in front of the mirror. She stood in front of it with her eyes closed, fearing what her reflection would show her. Would there be four glowing red eyes staring back, or maybe a leering grin? She took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

And then she remembered that it was so dark in the room that she couldn’t see a thing. One thing reassured her, though. Her eyes definitely were not glowing. She walked over to the light switch, turned on the lone light in her room, and walked back to the mirror. It reflected neither the glowing eyes nor a grin of any kind, but the sight of her own face still managed to make her jump back. Was that dream even a dream? First the Dursleys, then the dream, and now this? What was happening to her?

She grabbed the mirror and leaned in. Her skin looked grey and dead, as if she had never been exposed to sunlight, something that did not fit her at all. Her new hair and eyes frustrated her even more. Ironically, the unnatural colour fit her name, but it will be impossible to blend in anywhere. Will she be forced to wear a wig and a pair of glasses every time she had to go out? That sounded very uncomfortable.

Someone knocked on the door. ‘Violet, are you alright? I heard you screaming.’ It was Elder Azar. That gentle voice was unmistakable.

The timing couldn’t have been worse. There was nowhere to hide, she had no plan, and there was no time to improvise. Maybe it will turn out for the best if she found out sooner rather than later.

‘I had a nightmare, Elder Azar.’ She faced the door. ‘You may come in.’

Elder Azar walked into the room. Upon noticing her new appearance, she strode straight to her, knelt down, and cupped her face with her hand. ‘This is definitely a side effect of your powers,’ she said as she inspected her, ‘I did not know that it was possible for any sorcery to change someone’s genetic makeup so thoroughly, though.’ She let go of her face and looked at her with furrowed brows. ‘I do not know what to tell you. This may have always been your true appearance, but it remained hidden in some way or another. There are too many possibilities and too little to go on for anyone, not even me, to make anything remotely close to a definite conclusion.’

‘So I will probably never find out?’

She shook her head. ‘Only theories and speculations, I am afraid.’ 

She sighed. Another thing to worry about. How will Arella and Lawrence react? ‘Will I have to wear a mask?’

‘There will be no need for that. We do not reject anyone, no matter how they look.’

Those were some good news. In hindsight, she should have known that. Everything that Elder Azar has said about Azarath made it obvious. Were her expectations of people truly that low? That sort of thinking couldn’t be healthy.

Feeling cheered up a little, she hugged Elder Azar. ‘Thank you for being here for me, Elder Azar,’ she said, although it came out like mumbling because her face was firmly buried in Elder Azar’s shoulder.

‘You are most welcome, Violet. I will be there for you for as long as the years permit me.’ Her voice noticeably sadder than usual. Hopefully, she will stay in good health for years to come.

After a few warm seconds, she broke the hug. ‘I am still tired.’ She rubbed her eye.

‘Then you better go back to sleep, Violet. How will you study tomorrow without a good night’s sleep?’ she chuckled

‘I don’t want to have another nightmare, though,’ she whined.

Elder Azar smiled and ruffled her head. ‘You do not have to worry about that. I will be sleeping in a room just a few steps away.’

‘Really? That’s great!’ she cheered. ‘There’s no way I’ll have trouble sleeping with you so close by!’

‘I know. That is why I will be staying there for the next few days,’ she said, still smiling. ‘Now, back to bed with you.’

She jumped into the bed and pulled the sheets over herself. Elder Azar tucked her in. ‘Good night, Violet’ she whispered.

‘Good night, Elder Azar,’ she whispered back.

Elder Azar pecked her on the forehead, turned of the light, and presumably went back to her own room. She closed her eyes without fear. With Elder Azar here, everything was different. Man, she was awesome! She ruled an entire world all by herself. Who knows what kind of sorceries and magical powers she had? It had to be something amazing!

She thought about Elder Azar and the other Azarathians until she slowly but surely drifted back to sleep. This time there were no glowing eyes and no shattered Azarath. There were only deer grazing on the world’s vast plains and squirrels hopping from one tall white tree to another. She continued to feel that peace and serenity when she awoke and throughout the morning, up until it was time to meet Lawrence and Arella. She was still shaking at the thought of how their reactions will play out, even though Elder Azar told her otherwise. If someone who Elder Azar had personally selected to tutor her wasn’t willing to tolerate her new looks, nobody would!

After having her lunch a couple of hours early, she left her room to find her tutors. They should be somewhere around here, she knew that much. Did Elder Azar manage to inform them about her progress? She was a busy lady, after all. 

She walked into the indoor garden and spotted someone reading under the fig tree. The hood hid the face well, as usual.

‘Good morning!’ she called out.

The person closed their book and looked at her. It was Arella. ‘Ah, good morning, Violet. I have been waiting for you,’ she said.

No special reaction. She had been worrying for nought. ‘Oh. Well, I hope I haven’t wasted your time. It’s almost noon.’

Arella smiled at her. ‘There is no need to worry. I brought this book specifically for that reason.’ She waved the book at her. It was red, but that was all she could make out.

‘Alright then.’ Hold on, where is Lawrence? She looked around, but there wasn’t anyone else here. ‘Wasn’t Lawrence supposed to be here as well?’

‘No, he wasn’t. Each of us will be tutoring you in different things. I will handle your general knowledge, like mathematics, biology, or’ —she held her book up— ‘literature. You know, the things you learn at school.’ 

‘And Lawrence? He will be teaching me about magic, right?’

Arella’s smile grew bigger. ‘Correct.’

‘And does that include my powers? I had assumed that they are what I will be learning from you about.’

‘Err, not really. Elder Azar has elected that matter upon herself.’ Her smile turned apologetic. ‘I am sorry to disappoint you.’

‘No no, it’s fine. I was looking forward to it so much that I forgot that everybody here has probably never seen anything like them before.’

This was a relief to some extent. Now there wasn’t nearly as large of a risk of her powers getting out of control.

‘So, when do we start and what are we starting with?’

‘That’s the spirit!’ cheered Arella. ‘We are starting immediately, with a trip to the temple’s library.’

‘Oh? And why is that? To get books?’

Arella nodded. ‘Not only that. I need to establish where your knowledge lies before we do anything.’ She motioned for her to follow. ‘Come, follow me. We can talk while we walk.’

And with that, they walked out of the garden together. Something was still bothering her though. ‘Arella?’ she asked.

‘Yes, Violet? What is it?’

‘I noticed that you said “to the temple’s library”. Does that mean every temple here has its own library?’

‘Oh yes, there are six in total. One in every of the four temples, one in the Palace of Azarath, and one in the city centre. That last one is where fiction is kept, but the others hold copies of all the books of knowledge we have authored and collected.’

She raised an eyebrow at that. Why did the libraries here only hold copies? ‘And why not the originals? What difference does it make?’

Her tutor fidgeted and went silent for a moment. ‘Well, the original manuscripts are greatly valuable to our historians. Some of them, however, were either written without forethought or they contain some information that is potentially dangerous if the wrong person gets their hands on it.’

That reasoning only made the entire situation more confusing. Why worry about the wrong person when your entire society lived in a utopia? What could drive a person to endanger their perfect life? It could be curiosity, or was it maybe plain old greed?

‘Isn’t Azarath a perfect place to live? Doesn’t your way of life leave people wanting nothing?’

‘It is better to be safe than sorry, Violet. Curiosity killed the cat, after all. In this case, it might kill the entire clowder,’ she said seriously.

She cocked her head. ‘Um, Arella, what is a clowder?’

‘A clowder is a group of cats,’ she said.

‘Oh.’ What an odd word. What were some other names for groups of animals? Well, that could wait. ‘So, are we there yet?’

Arella laughed. ‘Yes, Violet. We have arrived. This is the library in which you will be studying for the foreseeable future.’ She pushed the door open and displayed the room to her. It was quite big; definitely bigger than the library across her school. A pile of books lay on one of the tables. Had they been picked out for her and Arella to use?

‘Ah, they picked them out. Excellent. That will save us some time.’ Arella walked over and sat down at the table that had the pile of books on it. ‘Sit down next to me, please,’ she said.

She did as instructed and pulled over a chair from the neighbouring table. ‘What subject are we starting with?’

‘First mathematics, then biology. We will pick the next subject later. Now, would you please tell me what your previous teacher has thought you?’

‘Well, I can add, subtract, divide and multiply numbers. I even know how to work with fractions and some basic equations!’

She was quite proud of that last one, even though she was forbidden from displaying it to her teacher.

‘My, that is impressive. Other children your age can barely multiply and divide correctly,’ she praised.

It felt good to be acknowledged. She felt herself blushing. ‘Thank you.’ For once, it wasn’t Dudley getting praise for the work she had done. It was as it always should have been.

‘Now, I am going to give you some simple problems. Take as much time as you need to solve them,’ she said.

And so she picked up a pen and got to work. Minutes ticked by as she furiously wrote down one number after the other. After finally writing down the last one, Arella quickly glanced over her paper before giving a biology book. It covered simple things about plants, animals, and humans. She already knew all that, though, so she picked a new subject: English! It was the hardest subject she has had to face at school so far. They started talking about some basic grammar and famous children’s books. Time flew faster than she had been able to notice and she completely forgot to check the clock. It was late afternoon already!

‘Um, it’s five o’clock already. Shouldn’t I be meeting Lawrence soon?’

‘Hmm?’ Arella glanced at the clock. ‘Oh, look at that. Well, I better get going. Lawrence should be here any minute now. Be nice while you are waiting for him.’

‘Goodbye, Arella!’

‘Goodbye, Violet, and see you tomorrow!’ she said. 

They waved goodbye to each other and then Arella left, closing the door behind her. She didn’t know what to think about her. On one hand, she was nice and kind, always taking time to explain things to her when she had asked her to. On the other hand, she had been oddly distant the entire time. During the three hours that they had spent together, she had never spent more than a second looking her in the eyes. What was that about? It definitely wasn’t fear.

‘Ah, Violet. I am pleased to see you calm and collected. An important attitude to have for all young sorcerers.’

She jumped in her seat. Who said that and how did they manage to get behind her so silently? She speedily turned around. It was Lawrence.

‘Oh, it’s you, sir. You startled me!’

‘Did I? My apologies, it was not my intention.’

She shook her head and frantically waved her arms. ‘It wasn’t your fault! I was concentrating so hard on something that I did not hear you opening the door.’

‘Ah. Well, in that case, I suggest we forget about it and move on. I have important things about magic to teach you today.’

She nodded calmly and pushed the stack of schoolbooks aside. ‘We better get started then. I am ready to start whenever you say so.’

Lawrence smiled and sat down on the now empty chair across her own. ‘To begin with, you need to learn and never forget some important facts about magic which we regard as universally true. If you forget them, it may very well cost you your life,’ he spoke, his voice sharp and threatening. ‘Do you understand, Violet? Do not tamper with them. Ever.’

It was discouraging to hear such dreadful things at your first magic lesson. She could do nothing else than nod decisively. ‘I promise to never play with something that I don’t understand.’

‘Good,’ he said. ‘Then we can start. For real this time.’ He pulled a small sheet of paper and a pencil out of his robes and placed them in front of her. ‘The first axiom of magic states as follows: “Magic comes from mass and turns into energy. The process can also flow in reverse.” That means that magic cannot come from nowhere. If you try to cast a powerful sorcery, the converted mass or energy may come from your vital organs, killing you.’

She cringed. That was something she hadn’t even thought off! What a frightening concept. Who knows how many people had died in the past before sorcerers discovered this rule? Did they still die today because of something as silly as overestimation of their capabilities? She didn’t dare ask. ‘That sounds painful!’

‘It is. Extremely so.’ Lawrence looked through the window, his head downcast. ‘It is not pretty to witness either.’

He must have witnessed it himself. His words certainly implied it. Maybe she should change the topic? It can’t be good to dwell on past mistakes, can it? ‘And what about other rules, er… axioms? What do they say, I mean, state?’

‘The second axiom is also the last one you will need to know until you start studying more advanced topics. It states: “Magic exists all around us, with more of it being present in living things.” Now, you may not believe that. After all, how can a rock be magical? The truth is that we do not know why. It simply is.’

‘That sounds really interesting, but I do not understand why that is important.’

Lawrence raised an eyebrow. ‘You do not? But it is obvious! If you ever lack confidence in your ability to perform a certain sorcery, use your environment for more power. That is the connection between the two basic axioms.’

‘Oh. I should have known that.’ She shook her head. That was simple logic.

‘Bah, don’t worry about it. Everybody makes mistakes.’ He waved his hand dismissively. ‘Now, one more thing I need to mention, and then we can move onto more practical things.’

Finally. She almost started to think that they would be stuck on theory for a while. ‘Really? Great!’ she cheered.

He smiled. ‘Indeed,’ he said and stood up. ‘Men all over the world channel magic they need to perform sorceries. There are many different casting methods, but they can all be categorised into four basic types. 

‘The first type is kinetic casting.’ Lawrence waved his hand around like he was performing a card trick. ‘It works by focusing your mind and will with the help of movement. You may have heard of thing like wand movements or ritual dances.

‘The second type is vocal casting. This one is used the most because it is the easiest. Simply speaking or shouting an incantation focuses your will quite effectively.

‘The third one is called focus casting. It relies on objects, often ones of personal significance, as a point of focus for your will. It is a bit unreliable for beginners because it lacks an external stimulant for one’s mind. 

‘The fourth and the last type is quite rare. It doesn’t have a singular, unifying name. The cause of that is its nature. It is recognised not by an action, but by a lack of one. Whenever you use magic by the sheer for of will, you are performing the fourth type. Something of note is that the users of this type often have some special powers,’ he said and gave her a pointed look.

‘Powers like mine?’

‘Perhaps. Perhaps not,’ he said sceptically. ‘Now, let me show you some sorceries.’

She grinned. It was finally time for the practical part.


	4. Demon's Day

'Come on now, Violet. You can do it. And remember, no cheating! I will be able to tell,' said Lawrence.

Like she would ever cheat when someone was trying to teach her something! Elder Azar impressed the importance of self-accomplishment upon her on the second day of her studies, right after correcting her, apparently bad, habit of using contractions when speaking. Learning to do the latter took effort and no small amount of self control. However, both of those things were something Dudley did regularly and if it made her different from him, then it was absolutely worth it.

She concentrated on the small rubber ball that laid on the carpet in front of her. Her current task was lifting it without using her arms or her powers. Only regular sorceries were allowed 'This time, I will succeed,' she said, aiming her arm at the ball. She quickly focused on her target. There was simply no room for distractions this time. She willed it to go up, and up it went.

It fell down and she smiled triumphantly. 'I did it!'

'Yes, you did, Violet, and in an hour's time too. Congratulations.' He smiled back. 'It seems I will have to raise the difficulty of your practical tasks. You keep exceeding my expectations.'

Once again, she smiled. It was a mere ghost, bearing no real joy behind it. 'Thank you, sir. May I be excused?'

'You may.'

She bowed her head politely and waked out of the library.

'Oh, I almost forgot to tell you!' he shouted. 'I have an important matter to attend to tomorrow, so you will have to do a bit of self-studying.'

Self-studying and exceeding expectations. They were things that kept her fears at bay, at least for a short while. Those thrice-damned nightmares were to blame for it all. Every time she crawled under the bed sheets and looked over her shoulder, it was because of the previous night. Every time she went to sleep, they assaulted her with taunts and verbal jabs at something or other. Every day for two weeks! Slowly, but surely, they kept eroding her sanity and self-confidence.

She might lose control of her powers soon and snap. That scene would not be pretty to witness if her tantrum at the Dursleys' was anything to go by.

A calm, emotionless life was ahead of her not only if she desired to prevent harming those around her, but also if she desired to survive. Constant vigil was to be maintained, the most difficult of meditations practised, and above all, magic was to be studied. Perhaps all that will help her solve the mystery of her own existence one day. The solution, however, might not even be magical in nature. Who knows how it will all turn out?

The bell tower rang for noon. She had to hurry! Her lesson with Elder Azar was about to start!

She dashed through the hallways in the direction of the fig tree. What would she be learning about today? Hopefully, it would finally be something other than lifting and throwing objects. Levitating her own body a few centimetres of the ground had proven to be quite a challenge to maintain in tandem with meditation. It was a highly effective method of reaching Zinthos, though.

Finally, she reached the small garden. Elder Azar was already there, patiently sitting and waiting for her on the stone bench under the tree. 'Hello, Elder Azar,' she called. 'I am not late, am I?'

'You are right on time, Violet.' She stood up and faced her. 'Have you made any progress with your levitation techniques?'

'I have, Elder Azar.' She nodded. 'I managed to incorporate them into my meditations.'

'Oh? In what way?' she asked. 'Meditative aid is not something I have expected from your powers.'

'Well, levitating something, even if it is for a brief moment, requires a lot of concentration. Keeping it like that requires even more. It turns out that the harder it is for me to concentrate on, the easier time I have reaching Zinthos.'

'Show me,' said Elder Azar.

'Give me a moment.'

Lotus would have to suffice. There was not a more efficient meditative position that she knew how to assume.

'Hmm...' Elder Azar stroked her chin as she observed her. 'Have you tried moving the objects while levitating them? You could even try to slowly levitate yourself. If your theory is correct, Zinthos should be much easier to reach.'

That sounded difficult. She had been trying to spin stones and rubber balls, but her attempts went without success. Levitating herself—now that idea sounded impossible to pull off, at least with her skill set. 'I will try it as soon as I master some of the easier techniques.'

'You do that,' she said. 'When you master it, I will teach you a very useful sorcery. Thanks to your powers, it will be unique to you.'

A sorcery unique to her powers? Elder Azar must have been secretly studying her powers on these lessons. What other explanation was there? Combining theoretic sorceries with her powers? Doubtful. That sounded like a sure way to get yourself vaporised. It would be a fun experience either way.

She smiled. 'I cannot wait.'

'Now, onto today's lesson,' she said and clapped her hands. 'I will teach you how to shape your magical energy into whatever you require. This is where your exercises in concentration and focus will bear fruit.

'Stand next to me,' she said. 'Do you remember what Lawrence thought you about casting sorceries?' she asked.

'Yes. "Feel the magic coursing through your body."'

'Good. Now do as you would when casting a sorcery. Feel the energy inside you and carefully guide it into your palms.'

She did so. It was not very hard. It felt like blood was draining from the rest of her body, only different. 'I—I think I did it.'

'Now cast the magic onto that rock. Just pretend that you are casting a sorcery.'

A simple warming sorcery should do. It was similar enough in nature. She stretched her arm out and cast the sorcery.

A ray of dark energy shot out of the palm of her hand and harmlessly dissipated against the rock.

'Well done, Violet. You have just formed and cast the first bit of your unique, magical energy. In time, you will be able to do impressive deeds with that particular piece of sorcery.'

'Thank you, Elder Azar.'

'Now repeat it. You will practise the simplest form of this sorcery until you master it. Using the same method, you should be able to start forming geometrical shapes, projectiles, and maybe even solid objects. Just play around with simple casting.'

'Projectiles, Elder Azar? Why would I need them? There is nobody here that would hurt me, right?' She looked her in the eyes. 'You said so.'

Elder Azar looked away. 'It pays to be prepared, Violet. Evil strikes from the unlikeliest of places. Overconfidence has led many sorcerers to their undoing.'

She pondered those words. In a way, overconfidence was why Dudley has been failing at everything that caught his interest. He never, ever considered the possibility of failure no mater how many times it had happened before. Who says that Azarath was failure-proof? Negative emotions may be practically non-existent here, but somebody is bound to do something stupid sooner or later.

Her stretched out arm shot out another ray of light.

She sighed. 'This garden is not an appropriate place to practise things like this, Elder Azar,' She said. 'Is there a training ground of some sort in the temple?'

Elder Azar shook her head. 'No, but there is one nearby. It is a bit difficult to reach, though. Once you leave the temple, go right. Then take the narrow street at the end of the square. You can't miss it. At the end of that street lays the entrance to a small park with a pond. In the middle of that pond there is an island. On that island there is an old outdoor gym in which you should be able to do whatever you want in peace and quiet. Nobody ever goes there.'

'Um, Elder Azar? How am I supposed to get on the island? I cannot fly.'

'I know, Violet. Most of us cannot,' laughed Elder Azar. 'That is why we put a boat there.'

A boat? Why not a bridge? Must be somebody's idea of charm. 'Well, I better get going if I want to do anything today. The trip might take a while.'

'Very well. You are excused from your duties for the rest of the day.'

She waved goodbye and sprinted out of the garden.

'And be ready for a longer lesson tomorrow! We have to make up for the time we lost today!'

'See you tomorrow, then!' she shouted as she ran down the temple stairs. 'Where is it?'

'There!' She pointed to a small archway behind a series of tables and market stalls. She jogged there and tried to spot what was at the end of the alley. There was definitely an end, but it was so far away that it was impossible for her to make anything out. If this was the wrong alley, then she would lose a large chunk of the time which she needed in order to prepare for tomorrow. Being unprepared will, at the very least, disappoint Elder Azar. That was unacceptable.

Thankfully, this particular problem could be solved with the careful application of a certain sorcery. Who said that reading ahead was a bad idea? Whoever it was, they certainly never had to deal with magic. She assumed her standard meditative position and chanted. 'Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos!'

Everything went as the text said it would. Magic gathered in her chest and eyes, guided by her concentrated mind. Then, when her focus was at its peak, she released it all.

It felt like she was sailing through the air, but there was no force slowing her down. Partially separating your soul from your body felt disturbingly good. Too bad that this sorcery had safeguards in place, but that might be for the best. She flew forward in a formless mass constructed by her mind. A few seconds later she found what she had been looking for. This was indeed the right alley. The magical construct she inhabited began to shake and she found herself in her body once more.

She did it! She successfully projected her soul-self without complications. Her body was a bit sore, but that will pass by the time she reaches the park. Hopefully.

The short trip turned out to be more of a claustrophobic stroll through a seedy part of town. You could barely walk side by side with someone in this alley in most places! Other parts of it were almost completely blocked of by various barrels and boxes. Was this an escape route or some sort of place where people put their rubbish to be collected? If she were to judge by the frequent containers and the sickening amount of filth, it would definitely be the latter. In the end, it was not that important. She could always ask Elder Azar.

A few minutes into her stroll, something green came into view. A minute later she could clearly make out some trees, various shrubbery, and most importantly, a pond with an island. But where was the boat? Definitely not on the pier.

A quick search revealed it to be hidden behind a bush. She ripped off the useless shrubbery, pushed the boat into the pond, and quickly jumped in before her shoes got wet. Two paddles laid on the deck. She put them in place and started rowing her way to the island. Taking in a breath of humid pond air, she looked at the park around her and smiled. This was a peaceful and relaxing place with no other people in sight. Why?

The boat hit something. Turning around, she realised that it was the island's shore. In her admiration, she forgot to pay attention to where she was going. Awareness was something to work on in the future. She climbed out and hurriedly walked up the path to the peak of the island. It turned out to be a cliff, albeit not much of one. It was about ten meters high, if that. The view was surprisingly good, though. She could see the entire pond, the park, the city walls, and some of the taller buildings like Otto's tower. The rest was hidden by the trees and bushes.

She turned around and jumped onto the small training ground. There really was not much to this place: two straw training dummies, a round table and bench made out of marble, and a simple roundpodium with some runes etched in, probably in Azarathian. That was it. You couldn't fit in more things even if you wanted to.

It will do just fine for her purposes. Nobody will ever bother her here, and maybe she could sort out her slowly shattering mind. If only It would shut up and let her sleep in peace!

The worn-out podium felt smooth underneath her shoes. It was time to put herself to the test! She stretched her arms out and aimed them at a training dummy, closed her eyes, and after taking in a breath chanted her mantra.

'Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos!'

A ray of black light shot out from her hands and shattered against the dummy.

She chanted again.

'Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos!'

The ray shattered again.

She kept repeating her mantra, and the ray kept harmlessly shattering against the dummy's surface. After a few more hits she decided that enough was enough. She clenched her fists, dug her feet in, and snarled. 'Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos!' she shouted and swung her arms violently.

This time, there was no harmless shattering. There was not even a ray, for that matter. The dummy had been decapitated by a ball of dark light, no, dark energy. Light did not decapitate straw dummies.

She walked up to the now headless dummy and picked up its head from the ground. The cut was clean. Had the ball changed shape into a disc mid-flight? That was a scary thought. She had to be careful with those things or somebody could lose a limb. Nevertheless, this damage was a direct result of her losing control over her frustration. What amazing things could she do with perfect control over her emotions? She had to find out.

Now it was time to see if she could make solid objects, or at least shapes, out of the dark energy. If her knowledge of magical theory was correct, then in order to give her magical energy a lasting physical form she would have to picture the shape in her mind whilst pushing out condensed magical energy out of her body.

So, she closed her eyes and pictured a simple square and pushed her magic out through the palms of her hands. When she opened her eyes once more, she did not see a mere square, but success. When she started to think of things to apply her new energy-bending powers to, the square barrier shattered.

She sighed. Her success had dissipated into the ether. This will not happen next time. She will master the art that was concentration-based sorcery!

First, however, it was time for a short break. Casting sorceries was as exhausting as focus practise.

She sat down on the bench and felt her shoes catch onto something. Looking down, she saw that it was a piece of old indigo cloth. After picking it up and dusting it off she stretched it out on the table. This old rag was, in fact, a cloak.

In a moment of uncertainty, she put it on. The hood covered her head just right and the cloak even partially covered her shoes. It was tailor made. Maybe someone was planning to give her a present? No, that couldn't be. The cloak was dirty and torn, like it had been laying here for weeks. Oddly enough, it was also singed around the edges. It certainly was not in a present-worthy condition. Was there someone else her age in Azarath? No, Elder Azar would have introduced them to her by now. In any case, it was something to ask about later. Break time was over now and she had sorceries to master.

She walked back onto the podium and stood in a typical casting stance. After all, mastering a branch of sorcery required every aid one could get. Stances may be dismissed by most Azarathians as needles, but they gave that extra punch to casting she was sure she will need.

'Azarath. Metrion. Zinth—' she started to chant, but a powerful gust of wind knocked her onto the ground. even a moment later, the island began to quake.

As quickly as her legs could carry her, she crawled back to the table and grabbed onto its only leg. Everything shook and tremored for at least ten more seconds before she felt secure enough to release her grip on the table and crawl back out. She ran straight to the cliff.

She shook as she witnessed the all horrid events. The skies were ablaze along with a part of the city. Thankfully, it was the far eastern part that seemed to be hit the hardest. The rest was hopefully in no worse of a condition than the park and the surrounding streets. Fallen trees and branches, bushes thrown about, cracks in the road and walls... all of it was frighteningly alike her nightmares.

As the realization dawned, her breath caught. If this was even remotely similar to her nightmares, then there was a good chance that Elder Azar and her tutors were in danger! She had to get back to the temple!

She got to the boat in a matter of seconds. Rowing across the pond took her a solid minute. She was small and weak, so that was the fastest she could manage without collapsing. That was a minute too long. There had to be a way to travel faster. Magic always gave a way!

When she ran into the alley, her ears became flooded with noise of exploding glass, stunning her momentarily. She had to get a grip on her emotions immediately! So, she closed her eyes and took in a few deep breaths. It proved to be enough to allow her to take back control. She immediately continued sprinting down the alley, all the way masterfully dodging the various obstacles in the form of rubbish bins, barrels, and other waste.

Emotions may not be able to seize the reins caused her powers to lash out, but that did not mean that her mind was not bombarded with all sorts of distressful thoughts. What was happening? Was it an invasion? Had someone made a grievous error in judgment before attempting a ritual? Were things under control? What if they were not? The most distressing one was certainly regarding Elder Azar. Oh how she was hoping that she was still alive and well.

When her temple home came into view, she was slightly relieved. Nothing was on fire here and apart from some debris and knocked over market stalls, everything was whole. That didn't tell her anything about Elder Azar, though. Whatever was going on, she was bound to be at the centre of it, taking back control and organizing the other citizens. Hopefully, she sent someone to look after her.

The stairs were like a racetrack— she practically flew up them without tripping or tiring. Surely enough, there was somebody waiting at the entrance. A low-ranking priestess, judging by their single, L-shaped pendant. She did not recognise their face.

'What is going on? Is Elder Azar okay?'

The priestess jumped back, visibly startled, and let out a sigh of relief. Then, she pulled down her hood. 'Thank Azar! You are safe!' she said.

'I was on the other side of the city, far away from danger.'

The priestess knelt down in front of her. 'Elder Azar got very worried about you when this chaos started. We all were, in fact.'

'Why? What is going on? Is Elder Azar alright?' She better be fine.

'Yes, she is fine. She would be here herself if she was not busy fending off the demon.'

'Demon?! Is the city being invaded?'

'Not invaded, assaulted. A powerful demon has somehow managed to create a portal into our dimension and is trying to gain entry into the city as we speak. Elder Azar is leading the defence.'

She was about to ask some more questions, but the priestess interrupted her before she had the chance to speak the first word. 'When I was sent to wait for you here in case you went here first, the demon was being pushed back. He has probably been banished back to his realm by now. Elder Azar will explain everything once she gets back. You better sit down and wait— I'll keep you company.'

Yes, and make sure she did not go into the city to search for Elder Azar. She knew what was going on and did not like it one bit despite grudgingly agreeing that her sitting put was the most helpful thing she could do right now.

So sit down she did, and waited. There was not much to do besides stare at the blazing flames in the distance and fear for the well-being of everyone there. She continued to stare at them for a couple of hours. She even started to tally all the flaming buildings to pass the time. That was up until the moment her head exploded in pain.

'Hear me, child of my blood!' boomed a deep voice.

Wait, she knew that voice. Oh, she knew it very well. It spoke to her every time she went to sleep. Was it her it was talking to? It had to be. Her temporary guardian was not reacting to it. This must be how telepathy felt like.

'I may have failed to seduce you through your dreams, but I will satisfy myself with claiming you on your eighteenth birthday! You are of my blood; your fate is inevitable.'

That was it then. She had been cursed with demon blood from the moment of her birth and doomed to serve the demon when it struck his whim? Surely there had to be some sorcery or an obscure ritual that could get her out of his grip? There had to be something!

'Your every effort, all the knowledge you acquire, will be in vain, for I am Trigon! Witness my power!

The demon bombarded her with scenes of horror, of his wicked and cruel deeds. Petrified remains of various species, skeletons of innocent civilians with flesh still melting of off them. Countless lives and worlds lost forever to his tyranny.

'You can run, but you cannot escape from your destiny.'

No, she could not.

'My time has run out, but I will return! Grow strong and remember, there is no escape from Trigon!'

As quickly as it started, the pain vanished.

'Violet? I am so happy to see you alive. With the way you were screaming I had thought that the demon had managed to imprison your mind.'

Another voice she recognised. It was Elder Azar; she came for her.

'I am alright. It was just a vision. Not much worse than what I see in my nightmares.' She looked down, completely shattered by today's revelations. 'At least now I know everything about myself. It is… comforting to finally feel complete.

Elder Azar let out a sad sigh. 'I did not intend for you to find out the truth so soon. You deserve a normal childhood like everyone else. At least the worst had not happened.'

'And what would that be?' she asked. She did not intend to question Elder Azar's judgment. She knew better than that.

'I had feared that you would be gone. First in spirit and then in body.'

A harrowing thought. Sadly, prophetic.

'This day was long and difficult. We lost Lawrence and Magistrate Juris to Limbo,' said Elder Azar.

'Lost? Are they in another dimension?'

'No, Violet. I am afraid that their bodies have been destroyed. Thankfully, everyone else is fine apart from a few minor injuries.'

'Oh.' She did not know what to feel. Juris was not someone she knew, but Lawrence had been her tutor. She may not have been attached to him, but it was still a grim reminder of what was to come. Perhaps she could redeem herself by doing good deeds on Earth.

'I will be taking over your training personally. There are things you need to know. You must not allow yourself to be destroyed due to a lack of knowledge or reason, like Lawrence.' Elder Azar sighed again and pinched the bridge of her nose. 'You must be exhausted, better go to sleep. You will need it tomorrow.'

'If you say so, Elder Azar,' she said dejectedly and went off to her quarters. What will she do? There was a long time to think of a plan, maybe even years.

Even though things were not looking up, she will figure things out. Somehow.


	5. Homecoming

‘You can run, but you cannot escape from your destiny’

Those were the words, the message, of Trigon that she received three long years ago. She had lost her childlike innocence on that day; it met its end after her demonic father had prophesied her inevitable fall to his might. Still, she did not think that all was for the worse now. The iron grip over her emotions was without flaw, formed from months of intense and complex meditation. Reaching Zinthos has never been easier. Her arsenal of sorceries was the largest in Azartath, excluding Elder Azar and the other priests. 

And all of it was in vain.

Even with the combined support of all Azarathian masters of magic, she was but an insect in comparison to Trigon. The ancient scriptures had to contain a path forward, but they were out of her reach. Perhaps she would be permitted to study the ancient scriptures once she turned fifteen. 

That is, if Trigon did not decide to collect her early. The inner workings of his mind were beyond mere mortals. She was unsure whether she was counted amongst them or not. Today was the day when her journey for the answer to that question starts.

Her plans have been in motion since last week. All the necessary preparations have been made. The persons of interest have been notified, her books safely stored, and her bags packed. 

She was ready to return to Earth.

England, to be exact. It was logical for her quest’s beginning to lay at the nation of her birth. After all, it was the place that she was most familiar with, apart from Azartah. Its age was also an advantage. As an old nation, it was filled with a long history and many secrets. During the day she would scour it for knowledge to use against her father, and during the night she would prowl through the dark underbelly of London. She was more than capable of both. 

Her doom may not be set in stone, but the odds were most certainly not in her favour. Scouring the planet from crooks and villains may not matter when she was bound to do her father’s bidding, but that will not stop her from making the last years of the innocent safe and happy. Perhaps the good deeds will atone for her future crimes. Her conscience may not heal, but it will at least be soothed with the knowledge that she did all she could.

First, however, she had to say farewell to her mentor and tutors. They were the closest thing resembling a family to her. Besides, she owed them a lot. Everything, in fact. All of them had given her so much, even with the danger that she posed to Azarath. She simply could not disappear without a word.

They were waiting for her in the atrium’s garden. It was a good thing that all the long parting conversations have already happened yesterday. An event like this could arouse her powers. She could not take that risk. This will be a formality.

She left her room and walked to the gathering grounds of her farewell party. Friendly chatter echoed throughout the temple’s halls.

‘There she is! Our dear student shows herself at last!’ cheered a chirpy, old voice. 

Of course he would be the first to notice. ‘Yes, Otto, I have packed my belongings and I am ready to go.’

‘Packed?’ Otto frowned. ‘My eyesight might no be as good as it used to be, but I should be able to see your luggage!’

‘Your eyesight is fine, Otto. My things are safely stored in my pocket dimension.’

‘Ah,’ he scratched the back of his head. ‘I should have thought of that.’

‘Never change, Otto. Azarath would be unbearably boring without your antics.’

Joint laughter filled the atrium. It was nice to know that everyone agreed. Otto never did get recognition for his contributions as often as he should have.

She turned around and chanted. ‘Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos!’ A swirling black vortex opened up in front of her.

‘Before you go,’ Elder Azar stepped in front of the crowd, ‘There is something we have for you.’

Arella gave the bundle to Elder Azar, who in turn handed it over to her. She held up the piece of cloth and let it unravel. It was a standard Azarathian cloak, only dyed in her favourite shade of dark blue. There was even a decorative brooch holding it together: A red gem surrounded by gold. It was beautiful. It also laid to rest the mystery of that burnt old cloak. 

This gift… It was something simple, yet worth to her more than any royal jewellery of men. A memory of her time in Azarath given form, a memory to keep her warm and guide her when she loses her way. 

A single tear trickled down her cheek. ‘Thank you. I will always treasure it.’

‘We know,’ said Elder Azar. ‘Farewell, Violet, and stay safe!’

‘Farewell!’ cried the other dozen priests in the room.

‘Farewell, and thank you for everything!’ she said before stepping through the portal to Earth.

Setting foot onto wet, grassy earth, she sighed. This portal was the first one she had cast that had to breach the dimensional veil between Azarath and Earth. There had been no guarantee that the crossing was perfectly safe. Thankfully, she could feel that she was in one piece, and the landscape made it clear that she had arrived at the right location. The fields and parks broke apart the sprawling metropolis from the rest of the country. Her feet were firmly planted upon a hill in London’s green belt, just as she had arranged.

Seeing London made her realise just how much she missed her homeland, and how much she would miss Azarath. Another tear trail down from her eye. That was the second today. She had not shed that many since she lost herself to anger last year. 

Enough. This was enough for today. She could not afford to fall complacent. She had to find suitable hunting grounds while the night was still young. Tomorrow was the first day of her redemption. With the thoughts of her upcoming crusade against the scum and villainy of this great city in mind, she made her way across the belt. 

It had been a quick affair. While wet fields were annoying, they would have been downright troublesome to cross if she had not been wearing her brand-new cloak. Only five minutes passed since she had received it, and it was already proving useful. Not only had it kept her dry while she trudged across the belt, but it had concealed her presence from prying eyes. This part of London had the third highest levels of crime in the city, so witnessing a mugging, pickpocketing, or a burglary should not be hard. She only needed to decide on a stakeout spot. 

She wandered through the streets with only an occasional cat or stray dog for company. They were the only locals confident enough to go out at night. She did not really understand the fear of darkness. Did normal people feel threatened by silence and shadow play? It was not something she completely understood.

The lack of complex high-rise buildings made her search a bit harder, but there were enough apartment buildings around for her to potentially make use of. In the end, she picked a dilapidated one right across a crossing between two roads. It was relatively short compared to the rest around here, only 4 stories high, but its location made that largely irrelevant. She walked around its side and climbed its rusty fire escape stairs all the way to the roof. It was surprisingly clean up here. Must be due to rain. She sat down on the concrete floor with her back against the bulkhead and waited.

Waiting was something that she has been growing more and more accustomed to over the past few years. In the time before she came to Azarath, she was not able to stand still in a line, let alone stakeout for crime. Meditation, however, had fixed that flaw. This was an excellent test of how much it had been fixed. Without patience, she was doomed.

She continued to sit there and wait for no small amount of time, only taking an occasional break to meditate, until she finally heard something that caught her interest.

‘Come on, bust the bloody door open already!’ hissed a voice. ‘We are out in the open!’

‘Give me a minute, Rob! This thing is bolted shut,’ answered another.

She crept over to edge of the apartment building and peeked over the edge. Two men, dressed in jumpers and ski hats were obviously intending to burgle the pharmacy across the street. The door, however, was giving them some unexpected trouble. The pharmacy owner must have taken precautions.

It was time for her to take action. But first, a disguise! She couldn’t let herself be recognised, no matter the cost. She pulled her cowl further over her head and cast an illusory sorcery. Instantly, a shadowy mist flowed out of every opening in her cloak, concealing her entire body from sight. Now, for everyone to see, she was a cloaked creature of pure shadow. There was not a face to be seen. 

Her flying skills were not perfect, but they would be good enough for her to cross the street. She levitated herself off the roof. A few moments later, when she felt prepared, she left her hideout and slowly floated over to the pharmacy. 

‘I think I’ve done it!’

It was an odd feeling, flying upright. Ultimately, it was an irrelevant observation. All that mattered right now was that her prey did not hear her coming.

‘Took you long enough, Tommy!’

Hopefully, they are faster at running than at burglary. Positioned directly above the burglar that has just finished with the door, she stopped levitating and dropped down on his back. She knocked the man on the road with one foot and then safely landed superhero style in front of the other burglar.  
The man, apparently named Rob, didn’t even blink before he did a runner.

The lowlife abandoned his friend. What a disgusting action!

She moved to immobilize the remaining burglar, but when she grabbed his arm he suddenly got up and pushed her away violently. Failing to maintain her balance, she fell backwards on the pavement.

‘S-Stay away from me!’ He backed away. ‘Rob, wait for me!

And just like that, he too was sent running. Even though the whole thing had ended in a few seconds, she still felt the adrenaline coursing through her veins. What an… interesting feeling. No doubt amplified by that shove. Damn! She had not expected that. She clearly had to get stronger if she was going to be hunting criminals. At the very least she had to minimize the chances of a physical confrontation. These two might have been terrified into fleeing, but there was no way of knowing whether the next criminals she ambushed would be so easily frightened.

This… was an issue. She doubted that there was a book on hand-to-hand combat within the tomes she had brought with her. Deliberating that will have to wait a moment or two. Right now, she had to get away from here.

She threw her arms high above her head and chanted. ‘Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos!’ 

The swirling, black vortex opened again and she stepped through it. She was greeted by the familiar dark void, the few square feet that existed here, and the piles of her possessions. Everything looked whole. The books were not torn, her soup was still cooling on the table. Even her bed was tidy. Her pocket dimension was functioning as intended! Marvellous! She had not expected for everything to be in tiptop condition, but she had obviously been wrong! Her control must be perfecting faster than expected. This was a great start. Now if only her crime-fighting had started so well.

She was in a right pickle. Hand-to-hand fighting skills were a necessity, that much was obvious now. Where then was she supposed to acquire them? After all, Azarath was not known for martial arts, to say the least. Ordinarily, she would seek out some martial arts club, but she could not afford that luxury. For one, she had no money, and for two, because there was no way she could let people know that she existed. The only proof of her existence were the fabricated birth certificate and her two years’ worth of school grades and all the other papers that went with them. After that, though, she was considered missing as far as the government was concerned. 

Wizards were naturally aware that she was alive. She was sure that they had some status tracking sorcery on her. Could they track her? Hopefully not. The wizarding world was not in possession of such knowledge according to Elder Azar. A problem for another day.

The cause of the problem at hand was her need for ultimate privacy. It was her single biggest advantage as a crime-fighting vigilante. Nobody can learn your true identity if you do not exist. Going to a martial arts club meant getting to know people, and people are notoriously curious. Especially children. She was only eleven, after all. At her age, you went nearly everywhere with your parents. Other kids would notice and tell their parents. Some of those parents were bound to get either concerned, curious, or both. They would ask questions, and those questions would lead to unfortunate answers. Answers that would doom her to inaction and restraint. 

That and somebody could see her casting sorcery, or even worse, get her angry. She did not want to live under government surveillance for the rest of her short free life. 

There was no other option. She would have to make due with watching fights on the telly and copying as much as she could— not that she would learn much that way. That is, if there was a way for television waves to cross dimensions. Maybe she could sneak into some wrestling or boxing matches?

Ugh, what a bunch of jam. She also had to decide whether it was better to comb through places of interest one by one or to casually assess each of their prospects first. Then there was the issue of residence. Sure, living in your own pocket dimension was incredibly convenient, but a place to use as a safe house in case of necessity was important. Maybe she should sleep on it. Important decisions are best made when you were well-rested.

Sleep came as easily as falling on the bed. She did not experience nightmares nor dreams that night. A perfect, dreamless sleep. Those were the nights that she had the easiest time waking up from. Well, sleeping sessions was the better way of putting it. There was no night nor day, only endless black void, illuminated by a bright yellow ball of light that flew a few meters high.

Breakfast was over quickly. Just some toast and fried eggs. It was nothing spectacular, but it would get her through the morning reading. Next stop, The London Library. 

‘Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos!’ she chanted.

The portal swooshed open and she eagerly jumped through it. Her first day back on Earth! And to think that it would begin in a public toilet. What could she do, though? Out of order toilet stalls were the safest place where she could safely open up a magic portal without being spotted. For now. Hopefully.

Running might not be the best way to remain inconspicuous, but a simple illusion will sort out that particular issue. No need for her soul-self, even though it was better suited for that than any other sorceries she could pull off right now.

One sorcery casting later and she was free to run through the streets unnoticed. The scent of morning dew and tea filled the air, only marred by the occasional exhaust gasses. Then, finally, the scent of old books. It could have been a kiosk, but the radiating frustration convinced her otherwise. It had to be the resident librarian, annoyed by late fees or the state of some returned book.

She turned around the corner and sure enough, it was the library she has been looking for. She entered the building, remaining unnoticed by everyone, and walked into the nearest aisle. Now that she was at her destination and out of sight, she could lift her spell from the passers-by. 

Her hand briefly glowed black, and just like that, she was visible again. That is, if they could find her in this maze of bookshelves. Seriously, who built a library like this? If there were no signs hanging from the ceiling, marking sections and genres, she was sure that a child could get lost in here. How irresponsible from the owners. Now, where to start?

She walked over to the history section. If there were references to Trigon in this library, then they would likely be here. Granted, the book would likely be old and of an obscure topic, but there was no way for her to know that for sure. Her fingers danced over the covers of various books until they found a massive tome. The book was old, but clearly well taken care of. The Facts and Fiction of Myths was its name. She removed it from the shelf and gently cracked it open. First edition! She was in luck. Those were always the most interesting.

She proceeded to study the book in great detail. Unfortunately, that alone took her until noon, when she left to buy herself some fish and chips for lunch. While an interesting read, the book only had a passing mention of a demon that was very likely one of Trigon’s aliases. Unsurprisingly, there was no information about him that she did not already know. While expected, she was still disappointed by that. After that, she picked out a collection of all stories and legends of the British Isles; a particularly odd children’s book about Death and three brothers; and finally, a study of old languages. She glossed over the other sections as well, but there was nothing else of interest to her in the rest of the library. By the late afternoon, she had left for a stroll through the city, just to relax and take her mind off things, before going back to the seedier parts of the metropolis.

The night came all too soon. She found herself perched on top of a tall apartment building once again, watching out for crime. This time, though, she had a much better view of her surroundings. It was not long before she spotted a trio of skimpily dressed thugs confronting half a dozen Asian men in suits. The former carried lead pipes and baseball bats, whilst the latter were armed to the teeth with staves and machetes. She could not make out what they were saying, but their body language suggested that it was not friendly. The thugs had their arms crossed and their eyes frequently wandered, whereas the Asians had their machetes casually hanging off their belts. 

The biggest of the thugs, presumably their leader, gathered his strength and brushed off the leader of the Asian gang, a man in a purple suit with black stripes. Verbal threats were immediately exchanged, followed by insults. None of the involved took kindly to those, and the situation deteriorated into a street brawl.

When one of the thugs took out a flick knife, she knew that she had to get involved.

‘Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos!’ First, her hand glowed black, then the rest of her body, and then she disappeared from the roof before immediately reappearing right in the middle of the brawl. Teleportation tested successfully.

Her sudden appearance pulled all their eyes to her, stopping the brawl. Pity, that might make this fight more difficult.

One of the thugs stopped mid-swing. ‘What the hell is that?’ 

‘Huh? No clue. Maybe the Chinkies called for backup?’ said another.

‘It wasn’t us!’ yelled the leader of the gang.

Her sudden appearance pulled all the attention to her, stopping the brawl. Pity, that might make the fight more difficult for her. 

‘It is a shadow! A shadow that came to life!’ yelled the third thug.

‘Bah!’ The leader of the Asians swung his hand dismissively. ‘What a ridiculous suggestion! It is clearly some punk playing superhero.’

Unfortunately for her, the Asian leader’s words brought confidence and anger to the frightened criminals. Doubly so to the skimpy thugs, whose pride was injured by their friend’s cowardice.  
‘What are we waiting for, then?’ yelled their leader. ‘Let’s teach this punk a lesson!’ 

The three men charged at her, their weapons poised to strike. Without time for anything else, she resorted to summoning a protective barrier around herself. Their weapons clashed against it and broke mid-swing.

Using the moment of their stunned surprise, she released the barrier with force. They snapped back to reality in time to see the dark wall coming their way, but their reactions were too slow. The sheer force of the rapidly expanding barrier sent them all flying headfirst onto the hard asphalt.

‘Three down, six to go,’ she growled.

The Asians somehow managed to understand because the grunts came charging at her even though she covered herself with multiple illusory sorceries beforehand. Her sorceries were weakening; she had to end this fight before her identity was completely revealed!

‘Azarth. Metrion. Zinthos!’ she quickly chanted. 

The feeling of freedom overcame her again as she momentarily left her body. The charging grunts doubled back, and she threw her black mass at their heads, putting them to sleep.

‘You spy on my negotiations, you interrupt my justice, and now you attack my men? You are dead, whoever you are!’ The man drew his machete and swung at her multiple times. Thankfully, his depth perception was poor and she easily dodged his attacks.

This man was way too skilled and dangerous to be left standing for too long. He had clearly killed people before and done who knows what else to bring misery to this city. Trigon’s brand was the only one fate for him. 

Another swing flew over her head. ‘Stand still and die!’

As her opponent was getting ready for yet another swing, she rammed into his stomach, tackling him to the ground. ‘One day, a mighty demon will walk this earth,’ she growled. ‘And on that day, you will face your doom!’

His influence permeated her body as she channelled demon magic into the man’s shoulder. She resisted the urge to grin as he screamed. Once it was over, he passed out. Panic will overtake him when he woke up, fearing the unknown mark in the shape of the letter S branded into his skin. Who knows, maybe it will be enough for him to change his ways? The minds of ordinary humans worked in mysterious way. 

With her good deed for the night done and with no other crime in sight, she opened a portal. Just as she was about to step through it, though, something flew over her head. She looked up expecting some new threat, but she was greeted by an owl. An owl that carried a letter. A wizard’s owl. Has that time come already?

The owl hooted, presenting her with the letter. She took it and politely nodded as a show of thanks. Carefully studying it revealed a number of interesting things. The letter was, expectedly, written on parchment. It was a bit old-fashioned, but not uncommon, to see that material in magical circles. Azarath certainly made plentiful use of it. The unexpected thing was the location of the recipient, or rather, the lack of one. Apparently, the narrowest area the wizards could pinpoint hers to was England. 

Were not wizards supposed to be able to track the living space of a future student wherever they were on Earth? It must be her portals messing with their sorceries. Or spells, as they called them. A theory to test and exploit for future uses. If her portals could passively disrupt tracking sorceries the wizards used, then a potentially massive issue would be nipped in the bud.

Furthermore, the letter was visibly bespelled, at least to her, with great concern. This letter was written, by hand and not by magic, specifically for her. She could still feel the many latent emotions of the author. 

It would seem that her absence from her aunt and uncle’s was noticed. Ugh, that will pose a major annoyance in the near future. Her status will be both an advantage and a disadvantage in that situation. There was one thing she could not change and that was the law. According to British law, both muggle and wizarding, she had to have a legal guardian. Elder Azar will gladly fulfil that role for her, provided that politics did not get involved. An icon like her, without a guardian? Somebody powerful and influential was bound to get interested and exploit the situation.

Another thorn in her side. One to deal with another day. Right now she had to worry about whatever wizard was sent to collect her, and one was bound to come, did not discover her living arrangement.  
She scribbled down a response to the acceptance letter, asking the school for a representative of theirs to meet her at the Leaky Cauldron. Letting them know that she was aware of the wizarding world should make them less nosy. Not much of a need to check if she lived somewhere safe and suitable if she lived with a wizard. This way, she could brush off most questions with privacy as an excuse. No way that would work if her guardian were a muggle. Even now she faced a threat of unannounced visits. They could always find an excuse.

She could outsmart them, right?


End file.
